Daming: At the start of the showdown, Lao Zhu was stunned

Chapter 1099 The Storm Has Risen
Yingtian Imperial City, outside Chengtian Gate.

Chengtian Gate is the outermost gate of the imperial city and also the main gate of the imperial city. The main building of Chengtian Gate is the tower. The tower is divided into two floors. The lower floor is a white marble pedestal, and the upper floor is a tall vermilion tower. The lower floor is larger than the upper floor, forming a ladder shape. Later, the famous Tiananmen Tower in the Forbidden City in Beijing was built in imitation of the Chengtian Gate of the Nanjing Yingtian Imperial City.

The Jinshui River, the moat of the imperial city, flows in front of the magnificent Fengtian Gate, and the area between the Jinshui River and the Fengtian Gate is a flat and magnificent square.

In order to ensure the safety of the imperial city and maintain the royal dignity, on weekdays, no outsiders are allowed to stay here except the twelve guards who garrison the imperial city.

But today, this place is crowded with people: censors with righteous faces, Hanlin scholars in official hats and robes, and scholars with excited expressions. It can be said that the place is overcrowded.

The imperial guards at the city gate were on alert as if they were facing a great enemy.

Fortunately, these people did not attack the palace gate. They just sat quietly in the square, using collective silence to try to make the emperor feel the pressure from them.

"Hmm? There are quite a few people."

Zhu Biao had brought the cabinet ministers to the top of the tower. He did not show up immediately, but stopped at a corner of the tower to watch.

Zhu Biao was actually pleased when he saw many young scholars who were not wearing official uniforms but ordinary Confucian robes, also sitting quietly under the city wall.

When several cabinet ministers saw the scene below the tower, they all looked solemn. But unexpectedly, Zhu Biao showed such an expression. Dao Tong was surprised and said, "These people are here to oppose Your Majesty. Why does Your Majesty look so happy?"

"My dear minister, you are wrong." Zhu Biao said with a smile: "These scholars are not against me, but against actions that harm the country."

"They are here because their passion has not yet cooled. I am very pleased that there are so many scholars in my Ming Dynasty who care about the world."

Daotong was startled, then relieved. He couldn't help but admire Zhu Biao's vision. Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Let's go." As he said that, he raised his foot and walked forward.

As Zhu Biao walked up to the tower, the sharp-eyed scholars below had already seen his figure. The crowd that had been sitting quietly became agitated: "Your Majesty, it's Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty is here!"

"Your Majesty is so receptive to advice that he actually came to see us!"

In the front row of the crowd, the upright Hanlin scholars and censors, led by Liu Sanwu, had already begun to adjust their hats and belts, and then led the crowd to bow respectfully to Zhu Biao on the tower: "Your Majesty."

"Long live your Majesty!"

"Stand up," said Zhu Biao.

The tower was originally designed to gather sound, and later on, in order to allow the emperor to better enjoy himself with the people during festivals such as the Lantern Festival, several high-quality copper trumpets were installed.

Therefore, although Zhu Biao's voice was not loud, the people below could hear it clearly.

Zhu Biao continued to ask knowingly: "Why are you all gathered at the foot of the imperial city?"

"Your Majesty!" Liu Sanwu, who was in the front row, stood up tremblingly. The clamor was so loud that the emperor had to come out to meet him, which made him feel that his victory was just around the corner.

At this point, the emperor had only one option, which was to get angry and use soldiers to disperse the crowd. But Liu Sanwu knew that Zhu Biao, with his "benevolent" character, would never do such a cruel thing.

So he said calmly: "We are here to persuade Your Majesty to withdraw the order to set up the special examination again and enlighten the people."

"Your Majesty, here are the 'Ten Admonitions', which are the words from the bottom of my heart and the hearts of the people. I hope Your Majesty can follow the advice and understand the public opinion..."

As he spoke, he held up the so-called "Ten Admonitions" high in the air.

If it was the retired emperor Hongwu who said this, it would probably be enough to make the nine clans of the Liu family shed blood. Daotong, Yang Shiqi and other cabinet ministers looked at Zhu Biao with trepidation.

However, Zhu Biao's expression remained unchanged. He just nodded calmly and said, "Since you have something to say to remonstrate, then come to the palace and make your remonstrance."

"Come here, please invite all the gentlemen into the palace, so that I can slowly listen to your advice."

"Yes."

Fu'an, who was following Zhu Biao, immediately arranged for someone to go down the tower to bring Liu Sanwu and other well-known officials into the imperial city. Liu Sanwu's heart skipped a beat, thinking to himself that this was not good.

The emperor wanted to call his people into the imperial city and separate them from the hundreds of scholars. Without these large numbers of scholars, they would lose their influence and would be at the mercy of the emperor.

But it was extremely reasonable for the emperor to summon them into the palace and listen carefully to what they had to say.

If they were unwilling to enter the palace, it would be a blatant disobedience of the order, and they would then lose the moral advantage.

So Liu Sanwu's old eyes turned, and he came up with a perfect plan.

Facing Fu An who came to him and invited him to enter the imperial city, he stood up tremblingly, turned around, and said to the scholars behind him:

"Everyone, I will go to the palace first and present myself to His Majesty."

"Your Majesty is a benevolent ruler of all ages. Since you are willing to consider our advice, you must reach a conclusion today."

"You are also responsible for the fact that His Majesty is willing to listen to my advice today. Please be patient and wait for me here. I will tell you the good news after I leave the palace!"

As he said this, he bowed to the scholars.

"Master Liu is absolutely right! We should be here to see Master Liu back in triumph." Some scholars were incited and shouted loudly.

"Yes, since we came together, we should return together. We will wait here for good news from Master Liu!"

"Since we came together, we should return together!"

Soon, all the scholars were incited and no one wanted to take the lead.

On the tower, Yang Shiqi looked at Liu Sanwu, narrowed his eyes, and cursed in his heart: "Old fox."

On the surface, these words were meant to appease the scholars for His Majesty, but in reality, he was still trying to use the public opinion of these scholars to force the emperor to abdicate.

As the saying goes, the first push is strong, the second is weak, and the third is exhausted. If the scholars disperse, they will not be as vigorous as they are today when they want to gather together again.

But if the scholars are still outside the palace, the momentum will not stop. After Liu Sanwu and others enter the palace, if the emperor's reply makes them dissatisfied, they will contact the scholars again after leaving the palace and continue to knock on the palace and make death-defying remonstrations.

At this time, Yang Shiqi was no longer the ignorant young man he used to be. He was very worried about the situation of Emperor Zhu Biao due to Liu Sanwu's political show which was full of murderous intentions.

But Zhu Biao remained calm, as if he had not seen Liu Sanwu's words to retain these scholars and literati. Only after he saw Liu Sanwu and other officials being led into the palace by Fu'an and others did he take another step forward, with a warm and gentle expression on his face.

"I am very pleased that you care about the country." Zhu Biao said. Below, the scholars who were still in a state of excitement could not help but calm down, and all looked up at the emperor on the tower.

"Fan Wencheng once said: If you are in a high position in the government, you will worry about the people; if you are far away in the world, you will worry about the ruler."

"You scholars are concerned about the world, which is a good thing for our dynasty."

The scholars were originally a little worried about being reprimanded by the emperor, but after hearing this, they all straightened their chests and felt a lot closer to this emperor who was said to be very benevolent.

Zhu Biao continued in a kind voice, "Since you are all here, it's just right."

"I happen to have in my hands two articles sent from the north by my fifth brother, and two articles written by Master Song Lian."

"These two great articles are profound and inspiring. We must not let them be buried under the earth... You are also scholars, so today, I will circulate these two articles to you so that they can be circulated in the capital..."

……

After having the two articles delivered to the scholars, Zhu Biao brought a group of cabinet ministers back to Jinshen Hall to "compete" with Liu Sanwu and others.

But behind him, the cabinet ministers were no longer paying attention to Liu Sanwu.

"Your Majesty, those two articles..." Just now when the eunuchs were ordered to go down the city wall to distribute the articles to the scholars, Yang Shiqi had hurriedly glanced at the two "great articles". At this moment, his heart was still agitated and he had not yet calmed down.

"Haha, Lord Yang, I have said it long ago. I will have the final say on this matter." Zhu Biao sat on the imperial carriage and said to Yang Shiqi who was accompanying him.

"But... this article... Could it be that Master Song and His Highness the Fifth Prince had already..."

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Regarding the matter of enlightening the people, my father, my fifth brother and I have discussed this issue a few years ago."

"This matter has become a great trend, and it is unstoppable. Liu Sanwu and others are no longer an obstacle."

"Just wait and see."

Having said that, he said no more.

Yang Shiqi was secretly shocked. Now that he thought about it, even the corruption case in the imperial examination seemed to be paving the way for these two articles and the enlightenment of the people.

Thinking about Liu Sanwu and others, who have been making trouble these days, but Your Majesty has always turned a deaf ear to them. This method seems to be asking Liu Sanwu to lure out all those people in the court so that they can be caught in one fell swoop.

This method doesn't seem to be what the current emperor is planning, but rather the Hu Weiyong case from decades ago...

The Emperor...

Thinking of that old and tall figure, who was not in the capital at the moment but still seemed to be influencing the entire Ming Empire in the sky, Yang Shiqi's heart shuddered and he hurried to catch up with Zhu Biao's carriage.

The storm has started...

A group of ministers accompanied the emperor to the Jinshen Palace. Inside the palace, Liu Sanwu and a group of officials, censors, and Hanlin scholars he had gathered were waiting eagerly.

They didn't know what happened after they entered the palace, nor did they think that Zhu Biao had any way to reverse the great trend of public opinion formed by many scholars outside the city in such a short period of time.

Seeing Zhu Biao coming, all the ministers greeted him. Liu Sanwu could not wait to step forward and said, "Your Majesty, these are the 'Ten Admonitions' that we have carefully considered. Please read them."

I and others have submitted the memorial to His Majesty, so there is no way for His Majesty to keep it. Today, I must ask His Majesty to revoke his order! Liu Sanwu thought to himself.

Zhu Biao nodded expressionlessly, and Fu'an took the memorial and presented it to Zhu Biao. Zhu Biao took a quick look and realized that the so-called "Ten Admonitions" were still the same old things, so he shook his head and put the memorial aside.

"Mr. Liu," Zhu Biao said, his voice calm. "Every word and sentence in your ten letters of admonition is about the north and the south."

"North, south, north, do you want to divide my Ming Dynasty into two?"

As he said this, he slammed the imperial desk and became extremely furious!
Liu Sanwu and the others were shocked. Under the overwhelming power of Zhu Biao, they had to kneel down.

"Your Majesty... Your Majesty, why do you say that? We... We are the ones who are not willing to sit idly by and watch Your Majesty divide the imperial examinations into northern and southern parts, so we are writing this memorial to advise you, this..."

"What a fair-minded person you are... Mr. Liu, all the successful candidates in the imperial examination are from the south, but you turned a blind eye to it. The northern scholars are furious, but you turned a deaf ear to it."

"Why do all the Jinshi come from Jiangnan? It shows that the holy learning in the northern half of our Ming Dynasty has declined to a critical point!"

"The holy learning is declining, and the world is in turmoil. If we let it go, the north will not know the etiquette and the king's rule. Are you satisfied? Must the people be as stupid as pigs and dogs, in order to say 'the people are stupid and easy to govern'?"

"Our Great Ming is pioneering and advancing. If the people do not know the moral code and the rule of the king, they will not know the great principles. If they do not know the great principles, how can they have the courage to pioneer and advance?"

"Fifth brother, in his 'Youthful China's Talk' it is said that if the youth are wise, the country will be wise; if the youth are rich, the country will be rich; if the youth are strong, the country will be strong. The so-called youth does not only refer to the southern people! You want to fool the people. Do you want the youth of our great tomorrow to be like pigs and dogs, who will not fight back when you are beaten or scolded?"

"Your Majesty, I am your old subject, I..." Liu Sanwu was stunned for a moment by the scolding. After calming down, he wanted to start refutation.

"I understand now." Zhu Biao did not give them a chance to speak, and continued: "In your hearts, you still believe in the Neo-Confucian doctrine of eliminating human desires."

"I wish that the people of this world were as stupid as pigs and dogs, allowing you to trample on them. Only in this way can the world be peaceful. But I never thought that if the people forget the great cause and lose their blood, the world will also fall!"

"Zhao Song Yinjian, you have already forgotten! Fifth brother and Master Song and others have worked hard over the years to gather a group of scholars with lofty ambitions. But the time is too short and there are too few people available."

"Everywhere is promoting education, and old Confucian scholars like you are indispensable. Let you study new knowledge, pass the examination, and then you can enter the court as an official, and teach and educate people."

"But ask yourself, how many people really believe in the new learning? They only care about fame and position. How can such a group of people really work for the Ming Dynasty?"

This, however, casts doubt on Liu Sanwu's title of "New Learning Confucian Scholar".

"Your Majesty, I, your old minister..." Liu Sanwu prostrated himself in fear.

To be honest, compared with Song Lian, he really disagreed with the new learning. When Zhou Wang Zhu Su and Song Lian were not in the capital, he did deliberately misinterpret the new learning articles and make far-fetched connections.

However, he is now in Yingtian and is the most experienced new scholar. He is not afraid of being exposed for doing this on a normal day... But now he has angered the emperor and his reputation will be ruined. How can he not panic?

(End of this chapter)