Xu Guangqi finally listened to Wang Peng's words and went from Zhangde Mansion to Beijing to apply for the army. Fortunately, Wang Peng found a business partner in Zhangde Prefecture, solved the financial problem, and lent him a few taels of silver, arranging for him to enter the capital with the businessmen entering the capital. Otherwise, Xu Guangqi would starve to death before waiting for the capital.
Although Xu Guangqi did not win any fame at this time, he definitely had a lot of brains. After suffering a big loss in Zhangde Mansion, his mind was much more mature and careful. At that time, Wang Peng and others were asked to leave their addresses, and they also wrote a complaint about illegal activities such as raping civilians in Anyang County and collecting money to repair the river, and asked Wang Peng to sign a few signatures and have their fingerprints pressed. After arriving in the capital, if there was an opportunity, they would take revenge. .
After entering Beijing, his application to the Institute of Science and Technology went very smoothly. He became the youngest researcher at the Institute on that day, and he followed several chemistry professors from internal laboratories to do various experiments every day. He told his superiors about his experience in Anyang, but Gewuyuan said that it had no control over the matter. Although he had a royal title, people in Gewuyuan were strictly forbidden by the emperor to interfere in politics.
Xu Guangqi, who had initially settled down, first wrote a long letter to his old father and asked people from the Songjiang Guild Hall in the capital to help arrange for businessmen to send it back. Then he advanced this month's salary and went to various restaurants in the capital every day to have toothpastes - he had been so hungry in Anyang for the past three months. Although he is the new recruit of Gewuyuan, Xu Guangqi's monthly salary is already as high as six taels, which is similar to that of a seventh-grade Beijing official after the salary increase.
He is only half a boy, and he still lives in a single room in the Gewuyuan, so there is nothing he can do with it. He can use these six taels of silver alone. As long as he doesn't eat abalone wings every day, he can still have half left by the end of the month if he eats whatever he wants.
Therefore, Xu Guangqi, a bachelor, often invited his colleagues from the Gewuyuan to eat out. Today, Qia Qia also went to Shunfu Mutton Restaurant to eat hot pot. The private room was next to the private room of Shen Maoxue and others. On the way, when he was going out for convenience, he passed by the private room of Shen Maoxue and others - and overheard their discussion about the rebellion in Anyang County.
At this time, he told about his own experience, which made Zhang Sixiu and others sigh. Tu Long asked: "Why don't you, little brother, file a complaint in Zhangde Mansion? Now that you are in Beijing, if you file a complaint again, you will be overstepping your authority. If no one accepts it, you will not complain, and you are guilty first."
Xu Guangqi smiled bitterly after hearing this and said: "At that time, I just hoped to be as far away from Anyang as possible. After all, I was afraid of being beaten. Isn't there any good way now?"
In fact, both Shen Maoxue and Zhang Sixiu here could find a way to forward Xu Guangqi's letter of complaint to the Inspectorate. However, the first important thing about being an official in the capital is - stay out of other people's business. If this is a ploy by a political opponent, how much is the sense of justice worth when I fall into the trap?
Because Xu Guangqi was asking about Zhang Sixiu, Shen Maoxuexin said that I would not come forward first. Second Young Master Zhang has strong shoulders. He has a prime minister father, and his ability to take risks is a hundred times greater than his own. Let’s see what he means first.
Although Zhang Sixiu had low emotional intelligence, Zhang Juzheng told him on the first day after entering the officialdom to learn to shut up and not to stand up for no reason, so he also found Xu Guangqi's matter troublesome. The key is that Xu Guangqi is a citizen rather than an official. People sued officials in the early Ming Dynasty, but now it has not been seen in official circles in the world for many years.
Therefore, he pondered for a while and said: "Since you are in the Royal Academy of Furniture, why not ask the dean Zhu Shizi to do this for you?"
After hearing this, Xu Guangqi smiled bitterly and said: "How can such a thing be so cheap? The number of people in the hospital has already exceeded 400. He can't be more stupid than others - I have never seen Dean Zhu." After hearing what Zhang Sixiu said, he pondered. Incessantly.
Xu Guangqi observed their words and felt that these people had no intention of helping, so he stood up and saluted to leave. Zhang Sixiu smiled and said: "It's not that I don't want to help you, but it's because of the regulations that I can't do it. But I have a plan, are you willing to listen?"
After hearing this, Xu Guangqi quickly thanked him and asked for advice. Zhang Sixiu said: "Have you ever heard of Xinmin Daily? This newspaper is not far from here. You can submit your article to them. They have dedicated writers to verify the investigation. If the investigation is true, you don't need to ask for help. They will publish it in the newspaper for you - when public opinion rises, the Inspectorate will definitely pay attention, won't you avenge it?"
Xu Guangqi bought newspapers and read them every day these days, but he never thought that he could use newspapers to vent his anger. After hearing this, he felt as if he was enlightened. He bowed to the ground and thanked Zhang Sixiu.
...
It was already very late when Zhang Sixiu came home, but he saw that the light in Zhang Juzheng's study was still on, so he knew that his father was dealing with official business again. He quickly went in to say hello to Zhang Juzheng. Seeing that Zhang Jingxiu was also there, he greeted his eldest brother again. Zhang Juzheng knew that Shen Maoxue had invited him to dinner, so after asking him a few questions, he asked him to go back to his room to rest.
Zhang Sixiu had nothing to say, so he remembered what happened to Xu Guangqi, so he told it in the study. Zhang Jingxiu opened his mouth wide after hearing this and looked at Zhang Juzheng. Zhang Juzheng frowned and said to Zhang Sixiu: "You might as well explain his matter to the imperial envoy from the Metropolitan Procuratorate and instruct this person named Xu to find a newspaper agency - it's just a matter of luck."
Zhang Sixiu hurriedly asked Zhang Juzheng why he said this, and Zhang Juzheng said: "You don't know that controlling public opinion is a matter that the emperor attaches great importance to. How much has the newspaper done in the past six months to promote the reform! Anyang County is certainly guilty, but after all, it is repairing the river. It’s related to major political affairs—which newspaper would dare to report it?”
Zhang Sixiu was young after all. Hearing his father's words, Zhang Sixiu was dissatisfied and said: "Then let Anyang County offend? Not only did they commit crimes without any reason, but also what Xu Guangqi said, how many things did they do to disregard human lives?! Those who died tragically in Huanhe River What’s wrong with the workers?”
Zhang Juzheng smiled casually after hearing this. He put down the brush in his hand and took off the spectacles from his face. Zhang Jingxiu hurriedly handed over the hot towel that had been prepared. Zhang Juzheng took it and wiped his face. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his eyes with two fingers. He looked at his second son with half-open eyes and said, "With you, In view of this, how should the court deal with it?"
Zhang Sixiu thought for a while and said loudly: "Even if we can't make a big fanfare, we must send an imperial envoy to find out and then take action!"
Zhang Juzheng smiled and said: "Isn't this what the court does now?" Zhang Sixiu was speechless after hearing this.
Zhang Jingxiu interjected: "The third brother is kind-hearted, but he should not have directed him to go to the Xinmin Newspaper. If Xu Guangqi is not cautious and says that you asked him to go - the newspaper will be in trouble. It is not possible to publish, and it is not possible to publish. No, they want more."
Zhang Sixiu laughed after hearing this and said, "Hmph, it turns out that the 'straight talk' advertised by the two companies is actually just a gimmick."
After Zhang Jingxiu heard this, he wanted to argue with his younger brother, who had been a little distracted recently. Zhang Juzheng raised his hand to stop him and said to Zhang Sixiu with a smile: "You are right. The so-called 'straight-line criticism' is indeed a trick."
These words were so firm that Zhang Sixiu felt that his three views were a little shaken, and that they were in great conflict with the impression that the newspapers had given him over the past few years. He looked at Zhang Juzheng in confusion.
Zhang Juzheng said coldly: "The emperor once told my father that propaganda tricks can only exist in the minds of those in power. This is the highest level of controlling public opinion. Those who run newspapers and read newspapers will not think that they are tricks. . Newspaper editors think they are 'straightforwardly discussing', while newspaper readers think they are 'private censors' - the magic lies in the word 'guidance'."
"Father, let me give you an example. How many articles did Jingshi Daily and Xinmin Daily publish about Ding Youzhi's debate in the next year? The newspapers first upheld public opinion and criticized Xinmin Daily for its bells. After that, they slowly discarded them every few issues. Published a reasonable article about 'stealing love', and wrote about the achievements of many ministers who have been taken away from love since the dynasty! So far, public opinion in favor of 'reforming the system of Dingyou' has gained the upper hand - are you aware of it?"
Zhang Sixiu was horrified when he heard this, and his back was covered in cold sweat. Ever since Shufa was educated, it had been a natural concept for his parents to remain unemployed for three years after the death of their son. However, this newspaper subtly changed his position. He did not dare to think about it in detail. It was really scary to think about it!
Zhang Juzheng continued: "The emperor and my father have studied the pros and cons of all the reforms in the past. Only Shang Yang's reform has the most outstanding achievements. Why? It's just because of the 'people's trust'! Others, such as the Xining Reform, Qingli Reform, etc., were abandoned halfway, which is just a different theory. Therefore, if the reform of this dynasty is to be accomplished, the father's "provincial discussion" will not work, but the emperor's "one discussion" will do. The emperor once said well, "From now on, only one thing will remain unchanged." , that is, it changes with the times and with the situation! 'That's a sincere statement."
After hearing this, Zhang Sixiu opened his mouth and said, "If the ancestral family law is discarded like a pair of worn-out shoes, and the country is in ruins, aren't you afraid that the world will be shaken?"
Zhang Juzheng listened and said with a smile: "How can we achieve great governance without creating chaos first? Reformers are not afraid of chaos, because the chaos is within the palm of their hands. As long as chaos can be cured, let it be chaos; only chaos can be divided. Left and right, friends and foes, only those in power know who to attack, who to win over, and who to rely on. Do you understand?"
After listening to Zhang Juzheng's words, Zhang Sixiu was enlightened and understood most of the actions of the imperial court in the past few months. Deep down in his heart, he swallowed up all the pride he had felt in the past few months for being ranked second in high school - only then did he realize that he was just sitting in a well and looking at the sky. Seeing that Zhang Juzheng had convinced his son, he picked up a booklet from the big case and handed it to him and said: "This is the "On Contradiction" mentioned by the emperor. You can take it and copy it first. If you study it carefully and understand it, you will know that "Shengcong" God's instructions, what the saints are born to know' are not false words!"
