It was almost evening, and the gapped crescent moon had already appeared.
Passing by a lush and towering old tree, I turned towards the alley, knocked twice on the wooden door, and then heard a voice coming from inside, "Mr. Zhou."
Someone outside whispered, "Ming Li."
They met their heads like a signal, and then an eye with heavy bags under the eyes and some cataracts appeared from behind the crack in the door, "Xingzhi? Fast forward."
"Is Mr. Donghai here?"
"inside."
The person who came was very young and handsome, with a piece of silk tied around his waist, his hair tied up and falling on his back, and his steps were very agile when walking.
After entering through the gate, he passed by the front yard in a few steps, then turned into the long corridor, and then turned two corners into a room.
There is a picture of Confucius hanging in the room. There is a strong man standing with his hands behind his hands. He immediately turns around when he hears a sound.
"How's the situation?"
"Big bad! Both Mr. Huide (Jiang Tongzu's alias) and Yeqiao (Lu Meng's alias) were arrested."
The middle-aged man shuddered when he heard the sound and fell down on the chair. His beard trembled, he beat his chest and stamped his feet and cursed: "Factory guards are like tigers! Factory guards are like tigers!"
"It seems that the Jin Yiwei had no plan to capture Mr. Ye Qiao before, but they just happened to meet him. These eagle dogs caught him all regardless!"
The handsome man was very angry when he talked about this, "In my opinion, the top priority is to hide Mrs. Lu and the two young masters as soon as possible. Jin Yiwei is vicious and ruthless. Both Jiang and Lu are plotting against each other." If he is arrested for the crime, this disaster will definitely affect his wife and children."
"I have already sent people there. Also, some things in your home can be burned as soon as possible. Now they are checking our own newspapers. The articles contained in the past few years are useless. No matter how careful they are, they will encounter forced lies and fallacies. Such a person cannot explain clearly even with ten mouths."
The person giving orders here is Ma Yiqian.
At that time, he and Jiang Tongzu were deposed together. After they stayed away from the temple, they always stayed together with Jiang and Lu because of their similar temperaments.
It turns out that life was pretty good.
Although the court didn't care about them at all.
But they held lectures together and made friends through literature, and gradually gathered a group of people, some of whom were even serving as officials. Being the first among them all brings some sense of accomplishment.
After all, they were demoted, but officials were still willing to honor them. Why? Of course it's not the so-called official career, but real recognition.
What the three of them preached was not complicated at all, it was just four words: self-denial and restoration of propriety.
The meaning is also easy to understand.
What it really is is the so-called 'new' word that is becoming more and more popular in the court today.
The emperor took the lead in destroying the ancestral system of the imperial court and personally drove away Liu Daxia, Liu Jian and others. He showed newness in everything. He talked about emphasizing Confucianism and observing etiquette, but in fact he killed civil servants, broke old etiquette, and there were many other things.
But really speaking, they are not a political organization and do not have clear political goals. Because they do not care about fame and fortune, they must wear this hat.
So really speaking, they just don’t agree with each other.
This group of people did not agree with Zhu Houzhao, an emperor whose behavior was somewhat unusual. He did not look like an emperor who really read the books of sages and received Confucian education. In fact, he also reflected some Legalist ideas in the process of governing the government. For example, some officials were dealt with very harshly, just like Lao Qin back then.
Zhu Houzhao also didn't like this group of noisy ministers who talked every day. It wasn't that he couldn't listen to objections, and it wasn't that he didn't listen to advice at all. He couldn't accept that kind of pedantic people. It's just that you can't convince him. For example, when it comes to maritime bans, an ancestral premise is put in front of you. No matter what your reasons are, people won't listen.
There are not a few such people. What can you do?
In the early years, he was a little more restrained, but later he completely let go. He did not use these people in the court, and even if he did use them, he would ignore them. When I meet the right person, I'll replace you.
Anyway, he has someone in his hands, and these people can't put the fool's hat on his head. Because he has strengthened the army and served the people in a real way, the national treasury has been enriched. Coupled with some means, public opinion has never been lost.
As a result, many ministers felt that their talents were not appreciated, and many of them really spoke out for the country and the people. Unfortunately, the court did not listen and ignored them, and they naturally gathered together in depression.
Unexpectedly, disaster struck suddenly.
Ma Yiqian didn't even know what happened. He heard on the first day that one person had been arrested. He originally thought it was nothing. But today he heard that Jiang Tongzu and Lu Meng were arrested, and he finally confirmed that something was wrong.
"Mr. Donghai, if you keep the green hills, don't worry about not having firewood to burn. We have to escape and leave the capital!"
Ma Yiqian disagreed, "Are we leaving? Who will save Huide and the others?! I have already inquired about this matter. The emperor acted absurdly and suddenly chose to leave the palace, only to encounter an assassin! After returning to the palace, Long Yan was furious, that’s why what happened today!”
"It's ridiculous! I once listened to Mr. Huide's lectures. Loyalty to the monarch in court and support of relatives in the countryside are two points that Mr. Huide often mentioned. Such a brilliant gentleman was finally framed as the mastermind of the assassination of the emperor. Which one? Has this kind of thing ever happened in the prosperous times?"
Ma Yiqian emphasized, "That's why we can't leave even more. Huide and Yeqiao are both well-known people, and among the people we can contact, there are also officials in the court. We will contact them immediately and ask them to be honest!" "
"What's the use of being a minister? Mao Yuwen is a man of the emperor. If he can do this, it is also the emperor's will!"
"No! This matter needs to be fought! Human lives are involved. If we don't fight, we will die. Why not fight?"
Ma Yiqian recalled the prince's refutation of his words at the court. Although there are some strong words, the prince must always have the righteousness of serving the country and the people.
In other words, even if he doesn't care much about etiquette...
"The emperor today has the talent of sophistry, and what he does sophistry is the word "reason". It is not the etiquette of our restoration of rituals, but the principle of reason. If there is reason, the name is correct, and if the name is correct, the words are correct! When the emperor was assassinated, this It is indeed a big matter, but it is clearly not our fault. No matter what kind of torture Jinyiwei uses, Jiang and Lu will not plead guilty. We also need to contact our comrades and go to Shangshu to intervene in this matter. As long as the momentum is large enough, it is unreasonable , then the emperor will not kill anyone!"
"But didn't Mr. Donghai say that there is something wrong with the article we spread? What if Jin Yiwei catches this?"
Ma Yiqian frowned and said boldly, "If our proposal to restore rites is wrong, then who should be killed are not the only ones? If restoring rites is wrong, then I, Ma Donghai, am willing to die for it. How happy is life? There is no need to fear death. At this moment, should you and I still have the desire to survive?"
"Mr. Donghai is so righteous!!"
…
Li Dongyang is packing his bags.
The emperor has not yet issued a formal edict on where to send him.
But leaving Beijing is inevitable.
In fact, he was a little confused. At the moment, Jin Yiwei was arresting people, many of whom were scholars with some reputation.
At this time, the emperor retained him in a very sincere manner. Was it really because he recognized him in his heart, or was it because he wanted to show his magnanimity and tolerance at this time?
Moreover, the cabinet itself was in "turmoil". Zeng Jian, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, was bedridden, Lin Han, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, and Zhang Fuhua, the censor of Zuodu of the Imperial Procuratorate, had never had any sense of presence among the emperor.
Jin Yiwei seems to be unstoppable.
Is this all a coincidence?
Li Dongyang is also difficult to determine.
But people outside still recognize him as an old man.
After all, the emperor gave him very high etiquette.
After some celebrities were arrested, letters asking for help were quickly delivered to his desk.
Among them there are also people who have worshiped him as a teacher in recent years, or who are members of the Chaling School of Poetry.
Chaling Poetry School is a poetry school in Hongzhi and Zhengde years of Ming Dynasty, and its founder is Li Dongyang. Because he was from Chaling, Huguang, he was called the Chaling School of Poetry.
The background of the birth of this poetic school was that with the decline of the dynasty in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, many literary works also lost their spirit and became cumbersome and cumbersome. What the Chaling School of Poetry admires is the revival of the writing style of the Tang and Song Dynasties, advocating that words come from the heart and the style of writing comes from the spirit.
Because Li Dongyang is the elder of the pavilion, he personally presides over the activities in this literary world and has many followers, including some well-known people in the literary world.
Of course, they are not necessarily very powerful.
Because Li Dongyang is not the kind of powerful official who controls the government, he will not place people from the Chaling Poetry School everywhere.
These famous literati knew each other, and Jiang Tongzu and Lu Meng were not unknown people.
So it is common to plead for mercy. Anyway, Jin Yiwei did the bad thing.
Li Dongyang received the letters from two disciples in succession, and then sat in silence in the courtyard.
Seeing that it was getting late, someone suddenly came to the palace and said that the emperor had called.
The old man did not dare to delay, so he packed up and went into the palace.
The palace was lit with lamps, and the emperor was still reading under the lamp. When Li Dongyang arrived, he sat down on the soft stool given by the emperor.
"...Mr. Jizhi is from Suzhou Prefecture. He once told me that everyone in the world thinks Susong Prefecture is rich. In fact, the local people are heavily taxed and their lives are not easy."
This was the policy left by Zhu Yuanzhang back then.
Now, the taxes of the Susong Second Prefecture are basically as high as those of some provinces.
"So I have been thinking that it would be best to open a port in Songjiang Prefecture and add a shipping department. Mr. Xixian also mentioned to me in Shandong that he would add a shipping department, so we might as well implement it together. Think of a way , to add some money to the people's hands. Another thing is that Jiangnan was prosperous in literature, and Ge Lao was also a Taishan and Beidou-like figure in the literary world, so you should also revive the literary style there when you go to Jiangnan. Study to be an official, govern people and govern the place , first of all, we must put practical matters first, apply them in the world, and benefit all people."
Zhu Houzhao generally had these two requirements for that place.
Li Dongyang thought that it was the governor Yingtian, and the emperor really treated him well, "I have received great favor from the country. I will definitely not forget your majesty's instructions today."
"I still trust Mr. Li Ge." Zhu Houzhao glanced at the veteran minister for a moment, "In the early years of Zhengde, Mr. But you and I, the monarchs and ministers, should put the people first.”
"yes."
Zhu Houzhao called Xie Pi again, "Yi Zhong, you give it away."
Xie Pi was quite obedient and held Li Dongyang's arm when he came up. It was indeed a little dark outside. The old man's eyesight may not be good, and there were steps everywhere in the palace.
Xie Pi didn't understand. What he said on the road was that the emperor had the emperor's difficulties. In fact, he was trying to comfort Mr. Ge and make them feel less uncomfortable. After all, the emperor is still a sage king who is devoted to the people.
Li Dongyang said nothing. Xie Yizhong was still young after all, so Xie Yuqiao could never let go.
What does the emperor mean? It is for the people.
What the emperor meant was that Liu Jian left early in the first place so as not to interfere with matters in the court. The emperor was very satisfied with this, so he called him,
Don't meddle in other people's business.
But despite this, the emperor was still a generous man.
After all, the reason why I called him over so late at night was because I wanted to be the first to say something, so that I wouldn’t have to say it first. Wouldn’t I be stiff by then?
At first glance, this seems unrelated. But Li Dongyang knew that he didn't think too much, otherwise there would be no reason to summon him after dark, and there was nothing important, why not wait until tomorrow?
And in the Qianqing Palace.
Zhu Houzhao also put the secret letter from Jinyi Weinan Town Fusi on top of the candle and burned it.
The firelight illuminated his face.
"Send a message to Mao Yuwen. He can be arrested, but tell him to pay attention to collecting evidence."
Because killing people is not enough, you have to kill your heart.
===
(End of chapter)
