However, Shen Shixing did not agree with Wang Xijue's view. He shook his head and said: "Even if the emperor summons Gao Qiuzhen to join the cabinet, it is impossible to directly serve him as the chief and assistant. After all, Gao Qiuzhen is just Gengchen. The qualifications of the Jinbang are too low. They are used to serve as officials, or it can be said that they are used according to their aptitude. However, if he is promoted to the chief minister in one fell swoop and takes charge of the political foundation, it will be difficult to convince the public. If he cannot be the chief assistant, why should he worry about the imperial concubine at that time? Is it unauthorized?"
After hearing this, Wang Xijue thought for a while and felt that Shen Shixing's concerns were reasonable. He had no choice but to change his mind again and said in deep thought: "As Yuan Fu said, there should be other reasons why Gao Pragmatism is so concerned now. ”
Shen Shixing sighed and said, "Yuan Yu, tell me... are we thinking too deeply?"
Wang Xijue couldn't help but be startled when he heard this, his eyes clearly showed some disapproval, but he just couldn't say it directly.
It's no wonder that he disagrees with Shen Shixing's statement. It's not like Shen Shixing has never had experience with Gao Pragmatic before, both indirectly and directly. And so far, he has never won, only suffered small losses and big losses. the difference.
Shen Shixing's level is certainly not bad, and Wang Xijue also knows him well enough. Since he has suffered losses every time, it can be seen that being pragmatic is not simple. In this way, you, Shen Yuanfu, still doubt whether you have thought too deeply. Isn't this a bit unreasonable?
Shen Shixing also saw Wang Xijue's doubts and explained: "Don't misunderstand Yuan Yu. I don't mean that Gao Qiuzhen is not thoughtful, but that there are some factors that prevent him from acting completely according to his own wishes." , that’s why he made such an unreasonable move.”
Oh I got it. Wang Xijue suddenly understood, and then he immediately began to think about it. After pondering for a moment, he slowly said: "I'm afraid Yuan Fu's words are just right."
"Oh?" Shen Shixing asked immediately, "What's the explanation for this?"
Wang Xijue said in a deep voice: "There is only one person in the world who can force Gao Qiuzhen to change his original intention and do such a reckless thing."
Shen Shixing's pupils suddenly dilated and he blurted out: "Your Majesty!"
"Yes, only the emperor can do this." Wang Xijue said with piercing eyes, "It seems that I have underestimated the pressure that Zheng Guoben's matter has put on the emperor... It is precisely because this pressure is too great for him, so he He transferred this pressure to Gao Qiuzhen, hoping that his classmate in elementary school could help him. Therefore, this forced Gao Qiuzhen to create trouble during the Beijing inspection, and the trouble had to be bigger and bigger. good."
Shen Shixing suddenly understood, took a deep breath, nodded vigorously, and said: "Yes, yes, this can only be explained in this way."
Wang Xijue twirled his beard and smiled, looking forward to his success.
Shen Shixing saw his expression, but didn't care. Instead, he complimented him: "Yuan Yu, if you had come to Feng Pavilion earlier to help me, how would I be in the predicament I am in today?" ." Fengge refers to the cabinet, referring to the Zhongshu Province during the Wu Zetian period.
Wang Xijue smiled reservedly, shook his head and said: "Everything in the world is unpredictable, and there is nothing to say about the past."
Seeing that the effect of his words had been achieved, Shen Shixing continued: "Although Gao Qiuzhen was forced to create trouble, as far as we are concerned, wouldn't this make things more difficult to handle?"
Wang Xijue was still immersed in pride. When he heard Shen Shixing's words, he was still a little unresponsive and subconsciously asked: "Why is it so difficult to handle?"
Shen Shixing sighed: "Yuan Yu, think about it, since Gao Qiuzhen was forced by the emperor to create trouble, his purpose is divided into two: first, he wants to divert our desire to rectify the country. The first priority was to give the emperor time to think of a solution; secondly, he took the opportunity to bring the issue of business tax to the table.
In this way, if we want to compete with him over the business tax issue, his purpose of causing trouble will be achieved. On the other hand, if we don't give him a chance to cause trouble, then we can only choose not to argue with him. No matter what the Beijing-Cha incident turns out to be in the end, we just need to get over it as soon as possible. But if this happens, we may not be able to stop him from levying commercial taxes in Jiangnan. "
Wang Xijue's expression changed drastically, and soon a look of sullenness emerged, and he said solemnly: "He is such a truth-seeking person, he really never suffers any losses, and there is always something he can gain between advancement and retreat!"
Shen Shixing sighed, looking quite helpless, but secretly thought in his heart: Now do you know how difficult Gao Pragmatic is? This guy is a hedgehog as agile as a tiger. He will roll towards you at every turn, but you can't touch him, otherwise he will be injured. But if you are afraid of getting hurt, then you can only avoid its sharp edge, but in this case, you will give way to him.
The so-called dilemma of throwing a rat into a trap refers to this situation.
However, Wang Xijue refused to admit defeat so easily, and quickly proposed a way, saying: "I have already sent many private letters in the previous period, but now I have to send an arrow. It's okay for the North Cha, but there must be a fight on the South Cha's end. There was such an uproar that it was impossible to stop suddenly.
The only way to plan for now is to unite people with lofty ideals and use thunderous momentum to quickly defeat his strategy of levying commercial taxes. Then he brought the attention of the government and the opposition back to Zheng Guoben, making him unable to take care of both ends, and he was overwhelmed, and the whole situation collapsed. "
To be fair, Wang Xijue's idea does seem good. If Shen Shixing had a deeper understanding of the art of war, he might find that this move is somewhat similar to the "inside maneuver" tactic: it means concentrating troops, destroying one part of the enemy first, and then relying on the inside advantage to quickly maneuver. , non-stop, using fast to defeat slow, and then defeat another enemy unit.
In the original history, Nurhaci actually used this tactic in the Battle of Sarhu.
But tactics are tactics, and the most critical aspect of this tactic is that after concentrating our forces, we can really quickly defeat an enemy's army. If even after concentrating all the troops, one part of the enemy army cannot be defeated, or even if it cannot be defeated quickly, then this tactic can only be declared bankrupt.
Shen Shixing did not "tacticalize" this matter, but he still understood the rationale and the key points were very clear, so he immediately expressed his doubts: "How to quickly defeat his strategy of extensively levying commercial taxes?" ?”
Wang Xijue frowned and said, "Didn't I just say that? Unite people with lofty ideals..."
Shen Shixing took the rare initiative to interrupt Wang Xijue's words, stretched out his hand to stop him, and said, "I'm afraid this will be difficult."
Wang Xijue frowned, even looking a little dissatisfied, and asked with a frown: "My lineage of Xinxue has been established decades before the Ta Shi school. Although it can only be equal to him in the temple, but below the fourth and fifth grades, it is an all-round leader." If we have the upper hand, let alone in Jiangnan and other places, our chances of winning are even greater... Forgive Xijue for being stupid, but I don’t know what is so difficult about this matter?"
Shen Shixing sighed: "The blame for this matter lies with the 'little minister', but the difficulty lies with the emperor."
Wang Xijue was startled when he heard this, and then his face changed slightly, and he said a little ugly: "Yuan Fu is saying... the emperor is going to go astray?"
"It's conceivable." Shen Shixing sighed again, shook his head, and said: "Gao Qiuzhen's move was originally to relieve the pressure on the emperor, and the emperor naturally knew it well. In this case, if Gao Qiuzhen Qiuzhen was defeated in the court, or suffered numerous impeachments, does Yuan Yu think that the emperor will not protect him?"
Wang Xijue was furious in his heart. Although he could not criticize the emperor, he still couldn't help but said: "If the public opinions in the world are fierce and pouring down like a river, doesn't the emperor...not think deeply about it?"
Shen Shixing was silent for a moment, and after a moment, he calmly asked: "What if the emperor doesn't?"
Wang Xijue suddenly opened his eyes wide with disbelief on his face.
Shen Shixing's face remained calm, and he calmly asked again: "If the emperor refuses, what can we do? Do you want to resign?"
Wang Xijue said angrily: "If you resign, please resign! If the Holy One can even turn a deaf ear to the public discussion of the world, then what can we, as assistant ministers, do to help? What's the use of staying like this!"
Shen Shixing sighed again, and then asked softly: "It is easy to resign. Even if the emperor does not agree, we can still hang our hats and return home. However, has Yuan Yu ever thought about where the court will go if I leave? In the future Everyone in the court has practical knowledge. We have worked hard all our lives, but in the end we can only do this. So how should we explain it to the students of the next generation after a hundred years?"
Wang Xijue was speechless for a moment, and Shen Shixing said again: "Besides, it is easy for us to leave this time, but won't we still have to collect business taxes? Isn't the country still in ruins? How should we explain to the officials and gentry in Jiangnan after we return home? ?”
The breath coming out of Wang Xijue's nostrils was a bit hot, and he gritted his teeth again and again. After a long while, he said angrily: "I just don't believe that Duke Huating in the past could cause the world to collapse, even if the Mu Temple is like this. , I have to let Gao Xinzheng go back to his hometown. I predict that today's trend will be better than in the past, how can I be undefeated by just Gao Qiuzhen!"
"One moment, another moment." Shen Shixing shook his head and said: "When Huating Gong turned his back, he took advantage of Yan's majesty, the advantage of his words, the late emperor's shortcomings, and the Gao Party's advantage that had not yet become powerful. In this way, we were able to force Gaoxin Zheng Ye back. The situation today is completely different. Apart from Shi Xing'an being the first and second auxiliary, what advantages do we have?
The Emperor has been in power for fifteen years, and it has been several years since the Queen Mother returned to power. In the past few years, the imperial court regained Annan, controlled Youmeng, pacified southern Xinjiang, and looked at the remaining Yuan Dynasty. It can be said that it is majestic and arrogant. But if you take a closer look, whose contribution is this? This is not only the emperor's achievement, but also the achievement of high pursuit of truth! In terms of power, can we compare with it? "
Shen Shixing shook his head, looked at Wang Xijue who was sullen and silent, and continued: "As for Yanlu, when Duke Huating passed away, I had an advantage over Yanlu. Even if Gao Xinzheng later went to Yanlu There is a lot of sand mixed in, but we can barely maintain this advantage. At least the position of Zuodu Censor is always firmly in our hands.
And now? The Censor of Zuodu had no choice but to change hands. The Imperial Inspectorate might still be able to maintain a slight advantage by relying on a slightly larger manpower, but the rising stars in practical studies gradually controlled the six subjects, such as Xiao Liangyou and his peers, who were even more demanding in their pursuit of truth. . In science and education, it is hard to say that my lineage of mind learning can still surpass others.
As for the high party power, it goes without saying that although the number of people in the practical school group is not as large as mine, they occupy important positions everywhere. Even in various places in the south of the Yangtze River where my generation is dominant, they have also placed many important officials. Although the number of these people is small, their effect is very great. In addition, although Hai Gangfeng and others claim to be gentlemen and not party members, their actions are mostly practical and academic. Alas, I think although this trend is easy to start, it may be difficult to stop..."
Only then did Wang Xijue realize the difficulty Shen Shixing had faced in handling the crisis by himself. Even though he was a high-ranking Yuanfu, who seemed to be inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people, in fact, there were constraints everywhere and he couldn't let go at all. Whatever he wanted to do would be blocked. Stop.
The most troublesome thing here is that many of the ideas of the Xin School are inconsistent with the emperor. This is wrong. Wang Xijue thought about it. It should be said that Gao Pragmatic has instilled some extremely wrong ideas in the emperor! As a result, it created an embarrassing situation where the Xin School seemed to be playing against the emperor no matter what they did.
But is this wrong? As a minister, should I obey the emperor in everything, indiscriminately? The more Wang Xijue thought about it, the angrier he became.
"According to what Yuansuke said, what else can we do? How about we just give in and let Gao Qiuzhen go on and on! No matter what he does, he will still be a civil servant. He can't send someone to my house by then. He captured me and chopped me off. Huh, if he really wanted to do this, I, Wang Xijue, would be dead right here, but I wouldn’t be afraid of his knife.”
Shen Shixing smiled bitterly and said: "Why did Yuan Yu say such angry words? The national situation is difficult. We should work together to build a monument and a banner for the righteousness of the world. Don't let people with lofty ideals think that their knowledge will be lost and they will give up. The door is closed. How can one be so depressed, give up on oneself when encountering some setbacks, abandon the truth and hide from the world?"
Shen Shixing's words were very humiliating. Wang Xijue was speechless after hearing this and could not speak for a long time.
After a while, Wang Xijue silently took out a note from his arms and handed it to Shen Shixing.
Shen Shixing didn't know what it was, so he took it and asked, "What is it written about?"
Wang Xijue said expressionlessly: "The nursery rhyme that suddenly came out last night... is actually not a nursery rhyme, but a poem, "One Cut Plum" - I think this poem is probably written for the two of me."
Shen Shixing was quite surprised when he heard this, but treating a poem as a "nursery rhyme" was not a good sign. Since ancient times, such "nursery rhymes" that suddenly appeared have almost never been good.
He opened it with some worry and saw that the note was indeed the song "One Cut Plum":
The official career requires precise workmanship, good reputation and good reputation. Don't try to be a hero when talking about current affairs, just be gentle and respectful. The minister's economy is calm, and he should not show off his extraordinary achievements or talk about his loyalty. All human affairs should be vague, and there is no point in refutation or discussion.
Everything is fine, every year will be prosperous, the national destiny will be prosperous, and the official destiny will be smooth. Everyone should be in harmony to seal the good and bad. If there is no disaster or disaster, the three princes will be honored. His wife will be honored, and his son will be a doctor. His reputation will be endless for generations to come. He will not be given the posthumous title of Wenzheng, but will also be given the posthumous title of Wenzhong.
"Snapped!"
Shen Shixing slapped the note on the table and said angrily: "Shuzi! This is too much!"
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PS: This poem originally came from the Qing Dynasty. If you are interested in the specific deeds, you can look it up. Here, Gao pragmatically only changed one word.
