Chapter 19 Chapter 19 Conflict
Spring is here, and the city of Beijing bathed in the spring light is full of beautiful scenery. In addition, when the spring breeze blows, the poplar flowers are blowing on the face, creating a unique misty situation. The beauty almost makes everyone in the city intoxicated.
However, in the face of this infinitely beautiful spring, Gu Xiancheng is one of the few people who cannot indulge in the beautiful scenery—no matter how beautiful the spring is, he has no intention of appreciating the taste, and the object of his attention is always the national economy and the people's livelihood. No matter what the scene is, his mood is heavy, sad, and even bad.
He clearly felt that the era he lived in was heading towards chaos and decline step by step—the hope brought by the eldest son Chang Luo's lectures in the pavilion soon became short-lived. However, the edict has been issued, the public opinion has been perfunctory, and the matter has been explained; in order to win the heart of Concubine Zheng, he devoted all his time and energy They were all used to accompany Concubine Zheng, not to mention going to court, and even the matter of ordering the eunuchs to read the memorials to him was avoided; It was sloppy under the mentality of hiding from laziness.
Chang Luo's lecturers selected Guo Zhengyu, editor of the Hanlin Academy, and Tang literature editor, both of whom are upright and knowledgeable, and are absolutely competent in teaching courses; However, the remuneration for lectures was too bad—it was still snowing in mid-February, and it was extremely cold, but there was not even a brazier in Chang Luo's study room, and the water in the inkstone was combined with ice. , the pen was too cold to open, and Chang Luo was only wearing an old padded gown that was too small because of the poor daily supply. When a hunched old eunuch accompanied him into the study His body, which was already thinner than the average children of the same age, was shivering from the cold. Immediately, he saw his two teachers feel sad and almost shed tears. Frozen, unable to respond for a long time.
Tang Wenwen didn't care about the distinction between monarch and minister, so he quickly took off his fox fur robe and put it on Chang Luo to keep him warm; He shouted loudly: "Where is the executive director? Why don't you make a fire to keep out the cold?"
Thanks to his yelling, the eunuchs who were hiding in the back room to keep warm by the stove showed up in twos and threes and brought in the brazier, which made Chang Luo not get sick from the cold on the first day of lectures.
And as soon as this incident spread to the court, there was of course a burst of voices, emotions, accusations, and even calls for better treatment for Chang Luo; however, Emperor Wanli turned a deaf ear to these ensuing voices, He didn't show it at all—even, he didn't even mean to blame these eunuchs for neglecting their duties, as if there was no such thing at all.
As a result, the ministers became more dissatisfied, shouted more loudly, and put more pressure on the chief assistant Wang Xijue, asking him to come up with ways to make Emperor Wanli improve his attitude and treatment of Chang Luo.
However, what would Wang Xijue do?
For him, it was already luck that the Wanli Emperor allowed Chang Luo to give lectures, so how could he dare to expect anything else?
This time, he was once again uneasy about his position, and he simply publicly expressed his intention to resign in order to avoid the criticism of public opinion...
"The character of the scholar-bureaucrat has disappeared—"
Thinking about it, Gu Xiancheng sighed involuntarily; this sentence has been recognized by his peers as a conclusion that applies to Wang Xijue-in fact, it is not only applicable to Wang Xijue, but among the several chief assistants since Shen Shixing, which one has "" What about the two words "Bone of Strength"?
However, not only is he not a negative and withdrawn person, but he is also a person with a strong will to struggle. The more difficult the environment, the more courageous he will be to challenge the difficulty; therefore, despite the realistic political environment It was so worrisome and disappointing, and the style and personality of these superiors made him sigh, and he did not intend to give up his efforts—even, his thoughts were more positive: "Wang Xijue is uneasy Now that the position is in place, the chief assistant must be changed—this is really a turning point—”
He thought carefully, and he had a very clear plan in his mind; if the chief assistant was changed, if an upright gentleman with achievements and responsibilities was replaced, the government would of course have the hope of gradually improving; and the new candidate for the chief assistant Of course, the decision-making power is in the hands of Emperor Wanli, but if the power of ministers and public opinion is fully exerted, it will still be very influential. As soon as the idea is decided, he immediately contacted his friends who are still officials in the court to discuss the matter. The method and steps of the matter.
After the "Jingcha" incident in the past, most of Zhao Nanxing, Chen Tailai, Yu Kongjian and others were demoted. There are not many like-minded friends who have always remained in the court, and only a few people are left. It is not high, but he is not discouraged because of this, he is still very active in contact, and made an appointment to have a small gathering in the mansion.
He is a thoughtful and considerate person, so before the party, he had already thought through the matter thoroughly, and when he started to speak, he seemed to have a well-thought-out plan—although the only friend present at the meeting was Lu, who was in the middle of the matter. Ming Suo, Lu Zhongli, and He Qiaoyuan, who served as a doctor in the Ministry of Rites, said with enthusiasm and ideals: "The way to influence the selection of the chief assistant is to restore the system of 'Ting Tui'-the cabinet ministers of this dynasty are appointed by the 'Ting'." Pushing out has a long history; it is only for the succession of Shen Ge when he resigns, and Long Live God is happy to adopt the "Special Brief", which has been delayed until now-if everyone strives together to restore the "Ting Tui", the cabinet ministers will be replaced by The Ministry of Officials will be recommended by the Nine Ministers, so that there will be no need to use flattery and mediocrity!"
The method he proposed was to start with the "system", but everyone nodded in unison, echoing his opinion, and Lu Mingsu said: "What Mr. Gu said is true, and the only thing we can do now is to recover." Ting Tui' can rectify the disadvantages of cabinet ministers' selection!"
Lu Zhongli also said: "If the 'Ting Tui' is restored, it will be under the supervision of the Ministry of Officials; I can't wait for talent, but I only wish to do my best!"
Although the number of people present at this meeting was small, Gu Xiancheng was given great spiritual support by saying what he had said; so, next, he put forward more specific steps for action; the first step was to visit and take over Sun Cheng Chen Younian, who served as Minister of the Ministry of Officials, suggested to him to restore "Ting Tui".
Chen Younian was a Jinshi in the 41st year of Jiajing. He was the censor of Youdu in Nanjing, and after Sun Yu resigned, he was called to worship him as the Secretary of the Ministry of History; he was sixty-four years old, and to Gu Xiancheng and other young officials, he was both a senior official and a father-in-law; And because of his similar temperament, he has always admired people like Gu Xiancheng. This time, after hearing Gu Xiancheng's celebration, he immediately nodded several times.
"The system of 'Ting Tui' has been practiced in this dynasty for many years. How can it be broken by the first or second hand? When Mr. Sun was in power, he often regretted that he could not restore the Ting Tui; now that the old man is in his position, he should naturally In front of the Long Live God, I will fight hard—”
His resolute eyes and tone of voice showed the courage and determination he was about to pay; but, after all, he is a senior official in the imperial court. He has been an official for forty years, and his experience and experience are more than that of young people. Much richer, so although he made a promise to go all out, he had some reservations about the success or failure of the matter; at the end of the conversation, he said to Gu Xiancheng: "Although Mr. Sun resigned, his demeanor will stay forever. He is a role model for us—for this court push, if the old man is unable to fulfill his wish, he should follow the example of Lord Sun and resign and return home!"
Of course Gu Xiancheng could hear his implication, but he was even more awe-inspiring, so he bowed his hands to Chen Younian and said: "Scholars should 'know what they can't do'——Xiancheng respectfully accepts it!"
That night, his mood became more excited, and he couldn't sleep more and more, so he wrote a dozen letters in one breath, to his friends who had been demoted to other places, and to his younger brother Yuncheng; in the letters, he talked about this incident. Fighting for the court push plan, also talking about the declining state affairs, and even talking about Chen Younian's attitude from the resignation of Sun Yu and Zhao Nanxing last time...
Letter after letter all vented the surge of thoughts in his heart in one go, the heaviness and excitement from the bottom of his heart, and the unhesitating determination for this action-he told his friends that it was true. I am also telling myself: "Success or failure is irrelevant, just do your best!"
What he wants to do is something that he is not sure about, but for the mission of a scholar to turn the tide, even if he is not sure, he must go all out - he is talking, the plain paper is dripping with ink However, although the letter was written all night, the passion that existed in his heart was not exhausted by this catharsis, but became more intense; With the first ray of dawn, the power and voice accumulated in his heart expanded to the extreme—even, what he embraced was a kind of tragic mood to welcome the arrival of this new day, under the illumination of the golden thread Next, his heart trembled violently, and then he set off early to work in the Ministry of Officials.
Since Emperor Wanli had not been in the morning court for a long time, the officials were of course happy to dodge. For the whole morning, there were very few officials who even showed up in person in the ministries; , the situation was a little better, and several circles of people worked together to help Chen Younian prepare the memorials and plans for the court push, imagine the situation and events to be faced next...
Unexpectedly, this time, Emperor Wanli's reaction turned out to be an unexpected surprise for everyone—after receiving the memorial from the Ministry of Officials, Emperor Wanli asked an eunuch to read it to him while he was still enjoying the medicine. , but quickly made a decision: he ordered the eunuch to send a message, saying that he agreed to use the method of court selection to produce cabinet bachelors, and the candidates who were pushed could be regardless of qualifications or grades.
Chen Younian, Gu Xiancheng and others who had already made the worst plan not to accept this suggestion by Emperor Wanli, were of course extremely excited when they heard the news; the white-haired Chen Younian was so excited that he had tears in his eyes Muttering and repeating a few words: "The blessing of all people—the blessing of all people—"
The spark of hope was rekindled in his heart, and he sent out a thought that was close to expectation and longing: "Long live God is willing to push the court, and things will turn around—"
As a result, the rationality in his heart was covered by this joy, and his attitude towards the cabinet candidates became more optimistic; as his junior, Gu Xiancheng, who belonged to him, was of course no exception. The attitude became more eager, and immediately wrote down on paper the candidates that everyone had discussed many times in the past few days and believed that they should be nominated for the cabinet. After a short time, a complete list was released.
The candidates on the list are Wang Jiaping, the former scholar of the Ministry of Rites, Shen Li, the former minister of the Ministry of Rites, Sun Qi, the former minister of the Ministry of Rites, Shen Yiguan, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Sun Piyang, the censor of Zuodu, Deng Yizan, the servant of the Ministry of official affairs, and Feng Qi, the young Fushi.
Among them, neither Sun Wei nor Sun Piyang was born in the Imperial Academy, and Feng Qi was only a fourth-rank official, so he was not eligible to be pushed. However, since Emperor Wanli said that he "has no qualifications", he is not subject to these restrictions. All the candidates are considering the two main points of merit and integrity - especially Wang Jiaping, who is ranked first.
Wang Jiaping was a Jinshi in the second year of Longqing. He was upright, knowledgeable, and an official voice. In the early years of Wanli, he was a Japanese lecturer and taught knowledge to the immature Emperor Wanli. He was respected by Emperor Wanli, so he was called He is a "duanshi"; in the twelfth year of Wanli, he created a special case of being an official in this dynasty-his original official position was to compile and write, and was responsible for compiling history; Ministry of officials, a few months later, Emperor Wanli ordered him to join the preliminaries as Zuo Shilang and Dongge University scholar-he was the first person in this dynasty to enter the cabinet to assist the government in less than two years after being a historian.
However, his official career has not been smooth sailing since then because of a special case. He was elected to the cabinet in the primary election. He was able to stick to his own integrity, uphold the law, and neither push nor follow; but also because of this, when Emperor Wanli embarked on the path of licentiousness step by step, he gradually lost Emperor Wanli's favor.
He is a person who doesn't care about and is not attached to fame and status. For Emperor Wanli's dislike, not only did he not have the slightest fear and changed his principles, but he still gave his honest advice—time and time again, Emperor Wanli felt sorry for him. His displeasure expanded like a snowball, and finally he clearly issued an edict to accuse him two years ago.
The fuse was still about the establishment of the crown prince, and he went to the court again and again. Finally, the furious Emperor Wanli sent an eunuch to scold him, saying that he had been in the court several times to ask for the appointment of the crown prince. It is disloyal and disrespectful to criticize the emperor for increasing his own reputation--of course he just resigned on the pretext of illness when the matter developed to this point.
Before leaving, he uttered a few words with emotion: "The emperor's favorite ministers are those who are good at pandering and not persuading; No one dares to make a sound about crimes - until the day when high officials don't love Juelu, and small officials don't fear punishment, and all officials promise themselves with "Wei Zheng", my Ming Dynasty can have the reappearance of "Zhenguan Zhizhi"! "
These words are sincere and deeply resonate with people of insight. Therefore, even though he resigned and lost his political stage, he has gained a very high reputation—in Gu Xiancheng's mind, he is naturally the first He is a gentleman, he must be listed first in the list of cabinet scholars.
It was Zhao Canlu, the servant, who hesitated for a moment: "Long Live Lord dislikes Lord Wang very much. Is it appropriate for us to rank first? If it violates the holy will, can it be adopted?"
His words were not objections, but discussions. Gu Xiancheng immediately became displeased, and said with a dignified expression: "Scholars of my generation should only ask right and wrong when doing things. How can we rely on the 'sacred will'?"
If the words are just and strict, others will of course stop talking; thus, this list was quickly sent to Emperor Wanli.Emperor Wanli also ordered the eunuch to read it to him when he was enjoying the medicine, but this time, his reaction was quite different—the three words "Wang Jiaping" were heard in his ears, touching his heart. When an unpleasant memory came to his mind, he immediately flew into a rage.
"These few life-or-death things simply don't take me seriously!"
He thought angrily: "I have promised to let them push it, but it turns out that I have such a hand-to make an inch of it, it is too much!"
He immediately cursed in the palace, and of course he didn't forget to send eunuchs to the Ministry of Officials to "strictly reprimand" when he had had enough scolding...
The entire bureaucracy immediately fell into eighteen layers of hell. Chen Younian led all the officials to kneel in front of the incense table set up to welcome the imperial decree, listening to the eunuch sent by the palace to represent Emperor Wanli to insult like a cannonball—— The effect of the high-spirited eunuch breaking people's dignity from between his lips and teeth was no less than that of the court staff unique to this dynasty. After two full hours, after scolding, he elongated his tone and shouted: "Here, thank you—— "
And Chen Younian had to lead all the officials of the Ministry of Civil Affairs to kowtow at every stop of his sentence-when he sent away the incarnation of the supercilious Wanli Emperor, Chen Younian was so angry that he almost shed tears Come.
However, he didn't say anything, but just sat quietly with his head down; Gu Xiancheng looked at him, and there was an excitement in his heart that he wanted to say something to him, but he couldn't make a sound, he could only let the tangled waves in his stomach roll and roll, Tangled in one place; wave after wave hit the heart; of course the other people didn't dare to speak, they lowered their heads together and sat with them sadly. .
It was getting dark quickly, and the servants had already lit the lamps and sent them up, but no one was in the mood to pay attention to it; moreover, everyone looked miserable and lost their souls because of the heavy and gloomy mood, watching under the shadow of the lights. He looked even more lifeless, especially the old Chen Younian, he was gray and stiff.
The old servant in his mansion came in to see him, and when he saw his description, he was startled immediately, but he thought that some serious accident must have happened, and he didn't dare to speak out, so he just stood there with his hands down After a while, the old servant went out, and after a while, portions of meals were brought in.
However, even though it was past dinner time, no one was in the mood to eat—Chen Younian was still sitting motionless, and Gu Xiancheng was still bowing his head, his heart pierced like a knife.
As night fell, the brightly lit official hall became more and more silent, and the atmosphere was so cold that people almost froze to death. Chen Younian's whole body looked more and more haggard...
In the distance, the sound of Chu Geng's shift began to sound "Tuo, Tuo, Tuo, Tuo", and then, "Crazy", the lingering sound dragged on for a long time; but when the lingering sound faded away, the world returned to silence When the time comes, repeat it again——the sound moves from far to near, and gradually spreads gradually. When it circles into the lobby of the Ministry of History, it looks extremely desolate, empty, and heavy.
But this was more encouraging and indeed reminded Chen Younian of the existence of time. His drooping head slowly lifted up, his wrinkled face seemed to be ten years older than a few hours ago, but the eyes It's not completely decadent, but in the emptiness and powerlessness, there is still a faint fortitude that belongs to his life; with this look, he silently looked around all the subordinates in front of him, then he raised his hand, faintly He said: "It's getting late, everyone please go back!"
His voice became hoarse, and he sounded desolate, and the people below were even more afraid to answer. After looking at each other for a while, they got up and left one by one according to the words; everyone's movements were slow and silent. Chen Younian cupped his hands, then cupped his hands to the others in the seat, then turned around and walked slowly with his head bowed - repeating this one after another, made the atmosphere even more dull and almost suffocating.
When the "Tuo Tuo Tuo" sounded again, there were only Chen Younian and Gu Xiancheng left in the lobby; Gu Xiancheng was full of tears, too emotional to express his feelings in words; You can understand his heart without him talking. After a while of silence, he took the lead in saying: "It's good for you to stay——I want to go to another class and fight for it!"
Gu Xiancheng responded softly: "Yes."
He raised his head, stared at Chen Younian, his heart was full of admiration - what he saw was not Chen Younian's aging appearance, but the heart and strength of a scholar, who was unyielding and unyielding ;He trembled involuntarily.
But Chen Younian didn't say anything anymore, just started silently, and put it into practical actions; Gu Xiancheng helped him with the overall memorandum, and repeatedly stated it to Emperor Wanli in the most earnest words; This is the completion of this ten-thousand-word book that analyzes the candidates for cabinet ministers in detail.
However, the two of them never expected that this Wanyan letter would never reach Emperor Wanli at all—in just one night, the furious Emperor Wanli overturned his promise to adopt the court push, and he sent a The eunuch declared his intention, and the candidates for the cabinet ministers were still appointed by the emperor "Tejian".
He is not even willing to "select talents and abilities" formally, and he holds all the power of employing people in his own hands, as long as he chooses obedient soft bones to be called his assistant ministers, he is really a slave who responds to his voice; moreover, for this He only saved Chen Younian's face for the officials of the official department who violated his will in one incident, without mentioning a word, and the rest were severely punished.
The person who was punished the most was Gu Xiancheng, who was dismissed as a civilian within a few days.
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