Zhang Juzheng has a handsome face, quite handsome, and is slightly thin. He only has one pair of eyes, which are faintly shining. He stands there, not showing off, but giving people a sharp feeling.
In the first year of Wanli, Ming Dynasty had entered old age, and it was the time when the sun was declining.
The government is lax, the country is weak, discipline has fallen, and military equipment is in disrepair. The number of the Beijing camp is only 50,000 to 60,000, all of whom are old, weak, sick, and disabled; the country's finances have suffered a huge loss, and the tax base has completely languished; the party in the court is full of people, there are countless redundant personnel, and the officials are ruling it. Decay is also unprecedented; the people are struggling to make ends meet, and the Ming Dynasty is already on the verge of collapse.
At this time, only someone who can save the world can eliminate the long-standing shortcomings and extend the life of the Ming Dynasty.
Yan Song couldn't do it, Xu Jie couldn't do it, and Gao Gong couldn't do it.
In front of Zhu Yijun is Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister of the Ming Dynasty. He has the means, determination, ability, and talent. Can he do it?
In fact, he didn't do it. Ten years was too short, and Ming Dynasty was too seriously ill. In the tenth year of Wanli, after Zhang Juzheng passed away, Ming Dynasty's last chance to correct its mistakes disappeared in the wave of counterattacks and calculations. Without a trace.
The chief assistant in front of him, who was dedicated to the country and poor in his own career, was the biggest reason why Emperor Wanli could not go to court for thirty years, and even though most of the officials in the court still neglected government and acted recklessly!
As long as what Zhang Juzheng was doing was beneficial to Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yijun would never stop him in the slightest.
It is Zhu Yijun's unswerving wish to make the Ming Dynasty great again.
Zhu Yijun looked at Zhang Juzheng, and Zhang Juzheng was also looking at the little emperor.
Yesterday, the assassin killed the king. The assassin broke into the Qianqing Palace and stabbed the bed with a knife. How would this young king react when he suddenly suffered such a disaster? Was he scared out of his wits and became submissive? Or are you worried that you will be killed? Or is it the sadness of not being able to guarantee his own safety after the death of the late emperor?
Zhang Juzheng didn't even see it, he only saw calmness and a trace of amusement.
Eyes cannot deceive people. There was no fear, no panic, no sadness, no worry in the eyes of the Ming Emperor.
"Yuanfu, can we start the feast?" Zhu Yijun asked. According to past memories, he was going to say a long and elegant thing.
The main idea is: I am still young, and I am deeply worried that my virtue will not be worthy of the support of the people. According to the expectations of the late emperor, today, according to the laws of our ancestors, I hope that the ministers in the court can recite the sutras well, teach me the principles, and govern this country well.
This long paragraph is like chanting sutras. The memory of other things I learned has already faded, but this paragraph is particularly memorable.
Zhu Yijun was testing whether he could hold this Sutra banquet if he refused to say so.
"I will obey the holy order!" Zhang Juzheng was stunned and bowed his head in agreement.
In fact, the sutra feast can be started without chanting sutras.
The twenty-seven powerful ministers of the Ming Dynasty served Zhu Yijun to read alone. The emperor did not even need to turn the pages of the book when he was reading. Naturally, the book clerk turned the pages. There were also attendants and lecturers who served Zhu Yijun to read, and were responsible for laying paper and grinding ink. , recording every word and deed of the scholars who gave lectures.
You don’t even need to take notes when reading, you just need to listen.
When the Master of the Banquet entered the hall, Zhu Yijun had to stand up and return the favor before he could start his lecture. The content of the lecture was the Four Books and the Five Classics. The Master of the Banquet had his own division of labor. He broke each word apart, crushed it into pieces, and fed it to him. Go in your mouth.
Zhang Juzheng was not idle, let alone wandering around, but was watching Zhu Yijun's studies very seriously.
Zhang Juzheng did not have a political heir, and he could not have one. He was arbitrary in his dynasty. If he had a political heir, Empress Dowager Li would have trouble sleeping and eating. Abandoning a high arch is a waste, and abolition of Zhang Juzheng is also a waste.
For Empress Dowager Li, it was Empress Dowager Li's duty to safeguard the emperor's exclusive administration.
There can only be one successor to Zhang Juzheng, and that is the emperor on the platform, so he is teaching the emperor Xiang Xiang very carefully.
Zhu Yijun really wanted to study hard and make progress every day, but as he listened, he gradually figured out that something was wrong. He suddenly said: "Stop."
"Yuan Fu, I have doubts." Zhu Yijun asked Zhang Juzheng: "These banquet bachelors obviously talked about the same sentence, but they each had their own opinions. Who should I listen to?"
""The Analects of Confucius: For Politics" says: Attacking heretics will only cause harm."
"Scholar Wang Xilie and Wang said: If you delve into heretical doctrines, it will be extremely harmful; Bachelor Chen Jin said: criticize incorrect speech, and the harm will be eliminated; Wang Borsun, editor of Hanlin Academy, said: attack speech that is inconsistent with your own views, This is very dangerous.”
"Yuanfu, what is the meaning of this sentence? Three great scholars have three meanings in one sentence."
The question asked by the little emperor stumped Zhang Juzheng for a while.
It is easy to determine the outcome in a martial arts competition, but it is difficult to distinguish between friends through literature. There is no first in literature, and there is no second in martial arts. This is the reason.
Literati have looked down on each other since ancient times. For a sentence of Confucius, there are a thousand Confucius among a thousand scholars. Various annotated versions emerge in endlessly. Various schools, schools and even everyone have different opinions.
Who is right? Who is wrong? Who do you listen to?
No matter who Zhang Juzheng said to listen to at the moment, he had completely offended other bachelors. Zhang Juzheng was not afraid of offending people. If he was afraid of offending people, he would not want to implement the examination method.
The way to succeed in the examination is to put a halter on the officials, whip the whip, and set performance appraisals for the officials, which is most offensive to people.
Zhang Ju is thinking about how to teach the emperor well.
Zhang Juzheng was silent for a moment and said: "I believe that attacking means studying for a special purpose; heresy is not the way of a saint but is regarded as one end of the spectrum."
"Huizong of the Song Dynasty went to Taoism and claimed to be the leader of Taoism. Emperor Wu of Liang was superstitious about Buddhism and claimed to be Bodhidharma. He would inevitably lose his country and be frowned upon by future generations. Then the heresy would cause harm. Isn't it something that should be strictly guarded for all generations?"
Zhu Yijun picked up a pen and wrote the words Huizong of Song Dynasty and Emperor Wu of Liang Dynasty, and asked: "Zhang Yuanfu means that these religious sayings are heresy?"
"Of course." Zhang Juzheng made no secret of his dislike of Buddhism and Taoism. The most important thing was the shrinking tax base. The land under the jurisdiction of these temples did not pay money and grain, and many gentry relied on them.
Under the rule of the Ming Dynasty, people harbored filth and did not pay taxes. This is one of the silverfish that will disappear in the Ming Dynasty.
The schools of thought are not heresies, they are knowledge, but the evil spirits that deceive people's hearts are the real heresies.
Zhang Juzheng is a Confucian scholar, but he is not a pure Confucian scholar. How can a pure Confucian scholar come up with such a thing as the examination method?
Zhu Yijun couldn't help but nodded and said: "I understand, Zhang Yuanfu talks about governing the country, and the great scholars talk about principles."
"I'm so ashamed of myself." Zhang Juzheng heard this and hurriedly said something modest. Although he was modest, he did not have any modesty. He stood upright and was a little arrogant. Several bachelors did not dare to refute.
Gao Yi died, Gao Gong was expelled from the cabinet, and Zhang Juzheng was overbearing in his methods. What if he refuted it and was deposed tomorrow because he stepped into Chengtianmen with his left foot?
Zhu Yijun was a little impatient with this scripture feast. The speeches of these great scholars were just like the speeches of leaders of various conferences in previous lives. They were all reasonable nonsense and correct principles.
But it has nothing to do with governing the country.
It's all nonsense!
He looked at Zhang Juzheng, suddenly thought of an idea, and asked with a smile: "Is Yuan Fu also a scholar?"
Zhang Juzheng didn't know why the emperor asked. He was not a scholar. How could he stand here? He replied with some confusion: "I was born in a military household in Changning, Jingzhou Prefecture. I am not talented. I was ranked ninth among the top two commoners in the 26th year of Jiajing."
Zhang Juzheng was a military householder, born in Changning, and ranked ninth in the second class.
Zhu Yijun continued: "Yuan Fu is a very good reader. I think he also annotated the Four Books and Five Classics."
Zhang Juzheng somewhat understood what the emperor meant and replied: "Annotated."
Zhu Yijun then stated his purpose: "I think that now that Yuan Fu is the chief minister of the Wenyuan Pavilion of the Ming Dynasty, he is naturally the most powerful scholar, so I will use the Four Books and Five Classics annotated by Yuan Fu to read."
"The twenty-seven ministers of the Ming Dynasty are extremely busy with their official duties. They are all waiting outside the palace for meetings, promotions, and affairs. They are all waiting for me to read alone. This reading lasts for several hours. Don't we need to discuss all internal and external matters? ?”
"Yuan Fu gave me his annotations of the Four Books and Five Classics, and set aside one day every month for Hanlin and the bachelors to take the exam. If he fails to pass, it won't be too late no matter how many people stare at him, right?"
"You are conferring under the platform, and I am studying by myself on the platform. We will not delay."
Twenty-seven courtiers were waiting outside the door. The ceremonial officer held up the embroidered spring knife and stared at them. They could not even stand in a decent manner, let alone whisper to each other to discuss state affairs.
Zhu Yijun's idea saves each other's time, increases efficiency, and avoids the confusion caused by academic conflicts among many academics.
Isn't the core of the examination method to save time, improve efficiency, and reduce the rigidity within the Ming Dynasty system?
Zhang Juzheng pondered for a moment, turned over his sleeves, took out a copy of "The Direct Interpretation of the Four Books" and handed it to Zhang Hong who was waiting beside him, and said loudly: "Your Majesty is wise."
accepted?
Zhu Yijun thought that the opinion of his little emperor was not important, but seeing Zhang Juzheng agreeing so readily and looking at the "Direct Interpretations of the Four Books" that he had prepared long ago, he knew that Zhang Juzheng had been prepared for this.
The monarch and his minister actually peed into the same pot.
Zhang Juzheng said quite solemnly: "After the court meeting, I will stay alone for an hour to answer your Majesty's questions."
Since Emperor Longqing's grand ceremony, the Sutra Feast has been going on for six months. What is the result of the emperor's study?
The result is zero.
Zhang Juzheng passed the school entrance examination, but the little emperor didn't read it at all, not a single word, and he just hesitated when he asked questions.
It's surprising that a ten-year-old child can read such a big battle.
On the other hand, each of the great scholars had their own opinions, not to mention the ten-year-old emperor, and even Zhang Juzheng was a little confused when he said it word by word. , The public said it was reasonable and the mother-in-law said it was reasonable.
Commentary on Confucius, who is right?
He has been thinking about how to teach the emperor well.
First of all, the courtiers cannot be allowed to miss the emperor. The high-gong incident is still fresh in their minds. The court meeting in the Wenhua Palace is the place to discuss state affairs. This involves the four words "the emperor is in charge". The little emperor must be there. Secondly, the little emperor must be allowed to study. Successful.
The most important thing is not to let Empress Dowager Li misunderstand that Zhang Juzheng, the chief minister, wants to usurp the throne!
You teach well, but suddenly you are not allowed to be taught by a bachelor. What is your intention, Zhang Juzheng?
After thinking about it, Zhang Juzheng came up with a solution, which was almost the same as what the emperor said, except for one more thing. After the court meeting, he stayed for an hour to preach and resolve doubts.
"This is very good, very good!" Zhu Yijun flipped through the "Direct Interpretations of the Four Books" written by Zhang Juzheng. This one is just annotations on the Analects of Confucius.
The most important thing is that all the annotations are written in vernacular. When the great bachelors speak, they are too elaborate and difficult to understand.
"The Direct Interpretation of the Four Books" can be called a popular reading of the Four Books and Five Classics, but popular does not mean crude.
Take the Analects of Confucius as an example. In what context did Confucius say something, to whom he said it, why he said it, what does it mean for governing the country, and what is its reference for the current Ming Dynasty? The explanation is profound and simple, and the explanation is profound.
"I'll retire." The bachelors looked at me and I looked at you, and they could only bow their heads and retire.
Zhang Juzheng usurped imperial power. Not only did the emperor not take precautions, he also gave him away. What could the bachelors do?
One day the emperor on the dragon throne will no longer be named Zhu, and your majesty will know how to repent!
Twenty-seven courtiers began to go to the palace, sat on both sides of the long table, and began to discuss state affairs.
The first thing is the case of assassinating the king and killing the driver.
