Chapter 4 Incident Escalation
This poem is a classic limerick that satirizes Confucius and Mencius.
The first two sentences are satirical to Mencius. Mencius has a fable called: "The people of Qi have one wife and one concubine." There was a man who had two wives. He begged every day and stole chickens from his neighbors, but he was arrogant in front of his wives and concubines. shame. On the contrary, I am proud of it.
The latter said that Confucius and Mencius advocated loyalty, but when the Emperor of Zhou was still alive, he went to the princely states to seek officials.
If we say that Yang Zhen was just teasing him in private before. But in He Xi's case it was blatantly ironic.
Let Song Ne not be furious. It is also the Ming Dynasty. If it was during the Han and Tang Dynasties, He Xi would not have been threatened by Song Ne, but would have directly drawn his sword to kill.
However, He Xi was waiting for this sentence, sneered and said, "There is no need to go to the book. Now just go directly to see His Majesty. Let His Majesty administer justice."
This is He Xi's intention.
To save Yang Zhen, we cannot leave the handling of this matter in the Imperial College.
Because Song Ne served as the Imperial College's sacrificial wine, his power in the Imperial College was unshakable. Just escalate things.
And He Xi actually didn't want to make things so tense. He originally wanted to stay in the Imperial College for a while and find out the details before choosing how to start. But looking at Song Ne's situation, it's impossible. Since peace is not available, let's fight.
To be honest, He Xi made great progress during that time in Hangzhou. Extremely decisive in dealing with these matters. The table was turned over directly.
When he arrived at the imperial court, He Xi didn't think Zhu Yuanzhang would support him.
In terms of serving as an official, Song Ne was far inferior to Guo Huan. But Song Ne is not a fool either. I didn't know what He Xi meant at first, but I already knew what He Xi said.
But knowing it, so what?
Song Ne's anger was completely uncontrollable.
This is not to blame Song Ne for being narrow-minded. In fact, if He Xi said this on other occasions and in other places. Although Song Ne was angry, he would not be so angry. The same is true for Yang Zhen. If Yang Zhen was a pawn outside and said bad things about Confucius, Song Ne would at best reprimand him and that would be enough.
But what is this place?
This is the highest institution of learning in the Ming Dynasty and the place where the teachings of Confucius and Mencius are passed down from generation to generation. In a place like this, saying such things as a student member or academic officer can no longer be described as provocative. Song Ne has made up his mind that He Xi must pay the price.
Even though he was aware of He Xi's intention. Not caring at all. Said: "Okay. It's settled."
He Xi said: "Please."
The two were getting ready to leave. Liu Song sighed secretly in his heart and said to He Xi, "Do you want to carry this Yang Zhen to the emperor?"
He Xi was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.
It would be very dangerous for Yang Zhen to stay here. Even though Song Ne followed He Xi to the imperial palace. But this is Song Ne's home court after all. Song Ne only needs to leave a message, and when He Xi comes back, the living Yang Zhen will become a dead Yang Zhen.
He Xi said: "Yes, things must have a beginning and an end, and this person will naturally be sent to the imperial court."
Song Ne looked at Liu Song, sneered, and said, "I thought Mr. Liu was a member of the holy school, but now it seems that he can't escape the shackles of fame and power."
Liu Song secretly sighed: "Do you think I want to do this? I am such an old man. It is really troublesome to get involved in such a thing." Liu Song originally wanted to make a peace between He Xi and Song Ne Sir, who knew that neither side would be easy to get along with, but in just a few words, it ended up like this.
He couldn't help but choose a side.
How to choose a side? Liu Song is very familiar with this. Without him, if you are not familiar with it, how did Liu Song come from the Hongwu period? So far, I have avoided all the storms and escaped unscathed. In fact, he does not stand for He Xi, but for the emperor.
Of course, Liu Song was not too satisfied with what Song Ne did. He felt that many of Song Ne's methods were too harsh and not the way to treat scholars at all. Instead, he was treated like a slave. This is a high school student. Just because of a small mistake, he was pulled over and whipped.
It's a little too much.
However, Liu Song has seen a lot of excessive things. He himself will never be the first to do so. But if someone comes forward at this moment, he doesn't mind showing his attitude.
Now that he has chosen a side, Liu Song will see things through to the end. He ignored Song Ne at all, as if he hadn't seen this person.
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Zhu Yuanzhang sat behind the imperial case with a cold face, looking at Song Ne and He Xi who were making impassioned speeches below.
Song Ne's voice was hoarse, and his beard was constantly trembling with his body, and he said: "Your Majesty, if this matter is not punished, what can't be done? How do the people of the world view sacred learning? Your Majesty, please issue an edict and ask Sir He to find another job. Imperial College The temple is too small to tolerate such rebellious people.”
Song Ne actually wanted He Xi to die. Or simply dismiss from office or something.
But he knew this was impossible. He Xi serves as the consort of Princess Anqing. Even for the sake of the princess, Your Majesty would not do this. But Song Ne could never allow him to stay in the Imperial College any longer. It seemed that He Xi's stay in the Imperial College for one more day was an insult to the Imperial College.
"Your Majesty, a human head is not a leek. It will not grow back if you cut it off. Yang Zhen is certainly at fault. But it is just a young man who does not know the seriousness of the crime. The crime does not lead to death. Even if the crime is really worthy of death, the power of punishment in the world belongs to Your Majesty. In his hands, Yang Zhen is not an ordinary person. He is a student of the Imperial Academy, a student. He died so easily without going through the Three Laws Division and without being reviewed by Your Majesty. Then what should the people of the world do? Song Ne, named Great Confucian, He is actually a big thief. Although he respects Confucianism and Taoism, he is actually a cruel official. I don’t think that such a person can be in charge of the Imperial College. I ask Song Ne to be dismissed and his crime will be punished to show His Majesty’s wisdom. The law is strict. " He Xi He also said loudly.
Now that we have broken our hearts.
He Xi also wanted to put Song Ne to death. Although Song Ne is not essentially a bad person, he just acts a little extreme. But now, it doesn't matter.
"Okay." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "Stop talking about it."
Zhu Yuanzhang saw Song Ne and He Xi and suddenly had a headache.
Needless to say the importance of He Xi, Zhu Yuanzhang could not win He Xi. But Song Ne and Zhu Yuanzhang were unwilling to move.
As mentioned earlier, Zhu Yuanzhang had always changed the Imperial Academy's sacrificial wine because the Imperial Academy's academic style was loose. After Song Ne took office, the academic style of the Imperial Academy changed. Song Ne was strict to the point of being almost harsh. However, Song Ne was not only strict to the students, but also to himself.
Song Ne has been living in the Imperial College. Get up earlier than students and go to bed later than students. All year round. Do your best. Historically, Song Ne was still in the Imperial Academy even before his death.
If Zhu Yuanzhang had not changed his mind, Song Ne would be his most suitable Imperial College sacrificial wine.
But even now, Zhu Yuanzhang is ready to change his mind. He is not prepared to replace Song Ne immediately. After all, it's easy to replace someone. But it's not easy to find someone to replace Song Ne. Some people say, can't He Xi be replaced?
Of course not. Zhu Yuanzhang could accept that He Xi brought down Song Ne step by step, but he could not take down Song Ne now, because He Xi had no advantage in the Imperial College now, so he directly appointed He Xi as the Imperial Wine Festival, not to mention this official position. Nine levels in a row. To put it simply, there will be criticism both inside and outside the Imperial Academy, as well as up and down the court. He Xi cannot sit firmly in this position, and many things are difficult to unfold.
This has only disadvantages and no advantages.
He originally thought that the confrontation between He Xi and Song Ne in front of him would only happen a few months after He Xi had been in the Imperial College, so he knew it would be so soon.
Zhu Yuanzhang said: "Yang Zhen, right?"
In the main hall, on a stretcher, Yang Zhen, who had been beaten extremely miserably, struggled in panic, trying to stand up. But Zhu Yuanzhang didn't wait for him to speak. He said: "As a student, you should be severely punished for saying such things in the Imperial College. However, it is true that the crime is not worthy of death. Take away all your fame and go home."
"Speak those words of yours to your mother-in-law when you go home."
Yang Zhen had an expression on his face that looked like he was crying, but also looked like he was laughing. Said: "My lord, the common people thank the Lord for his kindness."
Zhu Yuanzhang cared about the problem between He Xi and Song Ne, but did not care about Yang Zhen, who was the fuse. This punishment was not too severe. Yang Zhen was almost deprived of all his political rights, and decades of hard study were ruined. Yang Zhen didn't know whether he should be lucky or just die.
