Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 204: Besiege the capital and share the food of the Eastern Tartars!
The seven schools of Yangming's philosophy of mind.

Central Zhejiang, Jiangyou, South Central, Central Chu, the North, Fujian and Guangdong, and Central Thailand.

Now, the Mu family, the main family of the Northern Wang School, has become extinct, and without the existence of important figures or families in the School of Mind, the Northern Wang School immediately became a mess.

Of course, the most important reason is that it is too close to the capital. After the people in the Northern Royal School witnessed the emperor's bloody killing, all the people and families were frightened and dared not to take charge again.

Haven’t you seen that overnight, dozens of the Mu family, officials, and wealthy families in Wanping County disappeared?

This is not to say that these dozens of family mansions cannot be found. Those brick and tile mansions are still there, but the people are gone.

In order to warn the officials, gentry, wealthy families and wealthy households in other provinces, prefectures and counties, cabinet minister Chen Yiqun ordered the Jinyiwei to open all the doors of dozens of houses front, back, left and right after confiscating the money and grain of the Mu family, Wang family and other families.

When people walked in, they found that the huge Mu Mansion was completely empty. Not to mention people, there was not even a running mouse. The further they walked, the creepier it became.

The bricks and the blood on the ground, even if the Jinyiwei washed them clean, the dark color would immediately make people have bad associations.

Just in the southern suburbs of Wanping County, the Jinyiwei blocked a hill. Since that day, the hill has been emitting black smoke. Occasionally, when the wind is favorable, the smoke drifts over, and the fishy stench is enough to make people nauseous in an instant.

The families that often burned people knew that the Jinyiwei were burning people and the corpses of members of the Mu family and other families.

There are dozens of ghost houses in the county and a mountain of tens of thousands of corpses outside the county. Those people in the Northern Wang School are greedy, but not stupid. The consequences of offending the emperor are vivid in their minds. Who would stretch out their necks and let the emperor continue to chop them?

Some timid northern Wang school members and families even broke away from Yangming Wang school, and when no one was around, they burned everything related to the School of Mind.

The Northern King's School exists in name only.

This also gave the other six schools of Wang Yangming's philosophy an opportunity to seize the ideological high ground.

Since the emperor suppressed the School of Mind after the Great Ceremony Controversy, the development of Yangming School of Mind has always been in the south. This can be seen from the names of several schools. Twenty-one years before the reign of Jiajing, only the Wang School in the north was struggling to survive.

However, after the Renyin Palace Coup in the 21st year of Jiajing, the emperor hid in the Western Garden and stopped many ritual reforms. The intensity of the suppression of Yangming's philosophy also decreased significantly.

By the time the six schools in central Zhejiang and Jiangyou wanted to enter the north to open up an ideological high ground, Wang's school of thought had already become the dominant school in the north.

The filthiness of the literati is far more disgusting than anything else. Even though the seven schools came from the same origin, the people and families headed by the Mu family of the Northern Wang school and Mu Konghui banned the other six schools from giving lectures in the north.

Once people from the other six sects appear in the north, they will be watched at all times. If they dare to teach, the government will come to arrest them.

The emperor’s ban on Wang Xue’s activities has become less forceful, almost non-existent, but it is not non-existent. As long as a report is received, he will rush in to arrest people.

Obviously, this was reported by someone from the Northern Wang School. The other six factions were furious, but there was nothing they could do. After decades of development, the Northern Wang School had become deeply rooted in the north of the Ming Dynasty, and it had colluded with all provinces, prefectures, and counties. It was impossible to defeat it.

As a result, the entire northern ideological high ground was firmly in the hands of the Northern King's School.

Now that the Northern King School has fallen, the other six sects are like vultures smelling a dead body, rushing over madly to bite them.

Donglin Academy was established based on the Jiangyou Wang School of Yangming's philosophy of mind. Together with the five Wang Schools in Zhejiang and other places, it shouted for justice for the Wang School in the north, but in fact it sent a large number of its members to various places in the north to give lectures and "grab territory".

The extinction of the Mu family became the opening topic of lectures for other Yangming School of Mind scholars. It was a matter to liven up the atmosphere and guide emotions, nothing more.

The collective thoughts of the masters of the School of Mind were transferred to the north, which immediately attracted the attention of the officials of the northern provinces, prefectures, and counties. In order to protect themselves, they reported the matter to the capital.

After receiving the official letter from the local government, the cabinet, headed by Zhang Juzheng, Gao Gong, Hu Zongxian and Li Chunfang, went to the palace to meet the emperor.

As a Grand Secretary of the dynasty, there is no doubt that Zhang Juzheng was well educated. He was very clear that the trend of Xinxue must not spread in the Ming Dynasty.

Many people think that Xinxue is the "unity of knowledge and action" and therefore believe that Xinxue is a practical discipline. In fact, it is not.

In the Instructions for Practical Living, Yangming’s philosophy of mind clearly mentions that the so-called “action” is completely different from the “practice” understood by ordinary people.

For example, we say, "I like beauty" and "I hate stench." Seeing beauty belongs to knowledge, and liking beauty belongs to action.

When you see lustful things, you already like them. It is not that after seeing them, you decide to like them. Smelling bad smells is knowledge, and hating bad smells is action. When you smell bad smells, you already hate them. It is not that after smelling them, you decide to hate them.

In Mr. Yangming's view, "action" is the "movement of intention". In modern terms, when you have made a correct judgment on a matter, it is called "action" without having to wait until you put it into practice.

Therefore, the so-called "unity of knowledge and action" is not a methodology, but a judgment on the relationship between "knowledge" and "action".

The unity of knowledge and action does not need to be pursued deliberately. It will be achieved naturally under the guidance of "Heavenly Principle", that is, the "Mingde" in one's heart.

However, the 36-year-old Zhang Juzheng had already realized that Mr. Yangming's entire doctrine was essentially based on pure consciousness activities and was completely disconnected from practice.

This is called "empty talk".

In his early years, Zhang Juzheng was immersed in Buddhism and obsessed with "empty talk". He often tried to comprehend Buddhist principles from all things.

Because Yangming's philosophy of mind overlaps with Buddhist thought to some extent, and because he was promoted by his mentor, Xu Jie, a master of the philosophy of mind, when he first entered officialdom, Zhang Juzheng was immediately attracted to the philosophy of mind when he came into contact with it. He once believed that the philosophy of mind was the only "real knowledge" after Confucius, and once wrote in an essay:
"Learning is not based on the heart, but borrowed from the outside to improve oneself, only to see that the more hard work one does, the worse it becomes. Therefore, the palace that is worn out must be renovated and renewed before it can be seen; the academic work that is worn out must be renovated and renewed before it can last long."

However, as his experience in officialdom continued to grow, Zhang Juzheng gradually transformed from a young student with "bookish ambitions" into a true official of the Ming Dynasty.

He was no longer purely obsessed with fantasy, but began to pay more attention to practical issues in all aspects of the Ming Dynasty.

He discovered that one of the main reasons why the Ming Empire declined was that the scholar-official class began to "engage in empty talk."

Under the imperial examination system, the literati were the talent pool for officials. Compared with scholars, officials should pay more attention to reality rather than talking big, reading and thinking all day long.

But at this time, Yangming's philosophy of mind had already spread widely and had a huge impact on the scholarship of the Ming Dynasty.

Officials and gentry were no longer down-to-earth, but were keen on making big speeches and pointing fingers at other countries. The so-called academies gradually became places for scholars to "have idle talks".

The south of the Yangtze River was relatively prosperous, and Zhang Juzheng could barely tolerate the spread of Yangming's philosophy of mind. However, the six schools of Yangming's philosophy recklessly besieged the north, and he and the cabinet could no longer tolerate it.

Zhang Juzheng's cabinet could not imagine what kind of abyss the Ming Dynasty would fall into when the entire Ming Dynasty began to "engage in empty talk".

Whether it is the School of Mind or Yangming School of Mind, a decision must be made!

……at the same time.

Fengzhou Beach in the northern part of the Saibei.

Altan was pacing angrily in the Khan's tent.

Without the knowledge of the right wing of the grassland (Northern Tartar), the Ming Dynasty actually started a small-scale trade with the left wing of the grassland (Eastern Tartar) in the two towns of Xuanfu and Liaodong.

A large amount of grain and cotton entered the Eastern Tartar, which to a large extent destroyed Altan's idea of ​​controlling the Eastern Tartar through mutual trade and forcing the little prince to surrender.

In the face of absolute power, Altan did not have the courage and strength to protest to the Ming Dynasty. After failing to force the Eastern Tartars and the little prince to hand over food and cotton, Altan was extremely angry.

The conflict between uncle and nephew intensified again.

Shen Weijing was also inside the Khan's tent. He said in a deep voice, "I never thought that the Ming Dynasty would really give face to the Eastern Tartars. The things that the Eastern Tartars wanted were actually sent to them by the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, the transaction was at a fair price, not at the high price of the mutual trade. How strange! How bizarre!"

As a person who was eaten by both the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars, he, together with the Eastern Tartars who shared the little prince with Altan Khan, was the key to the rise of the Qingxi Shen family.

Unexpectedly, the Ming Dynasty provided assistance to the Eastern Tartars without informing him, the ambassador to Tatar, which disrupted his and his family's plans.

Discontent is growing.

"The little prince secretly had an affair with Ming Dynasty behind my back. Does he still have me in his eyes?"

Altan was furious and said sternly: "If the little prince is really so ignorant, then I will have no choice but to use force."

The gap in strength between the Northern and Eastern Tartars still exists. If the Northern Tartars force their way forward, the Eastern Tartars will not be able to withstand it. It's just that the casualties would be too great, so Altan was unwilling to do so before.

But after learning that the Eastern Tartars bypassed him and secretly colluded with the Ming court, although Altan was unwilling to admit it, he was indeed a little scared.

He didn't know how much support the Ming Dynasty gave to the Eastern Tartars, nor did he know what kind of deal the Ming Dynasty and the Eastern Tartars had reached, let alone whether the Ming Dynasty and the Eastern Tartars were plotting to get rid of him?

You know, the nominal leader of the grassland is still the little prince, not him.

The little prince is younger than him, the little prince is weaker than him, and the little prince is more satisfied with the Ming Dynasty's control over the grassland than him.

What if one day, the Eastern Tartar army and the Ming army invade the Northern Tartar together, what will the Northern Tartar use to resist?
All kinds of bad imaginations made Altan more eager to unify the grassland to avoid any more trouble.

"Master Khan, don't be impatient!"

Shen Weijing hurriedly stopped him and shook his head, saying, "People in the Central Plains are good at strategy. If the Khan goes to war with the Eastern Tartars, both sides will suffer losses. This is what the Ming court wants to see the most.

I think we only need to do one more thing to keep the previous plan going.”

The plan to divide the Eastern Tartar was only disrupted but not completely destroyed, so all we need to do is find a way to repair the damage.

"doing what?"

"Destroy the Ming Dynasty's private grant to the Eastern Tartars!"

Shen Weijing's eyes sparkled with brilliance, and he smiled and said, "The little prince is gradually straightening his back. The Donglu people's resistance is based on the support of the Ming Dynasty. As long as the Ming Dynasty's support is gone, or it doesn't fall on the Donglu people, the little prince and the Donglu people will obey the Khan again."

"What to do?"

“The Ming Dynasty aided the Eastern Tartars through Xuanfu Town and Liaodong Town. Xuanfu Town is located on the boundary between the left and right wings of the grassland. Instead of sending a large-scale army to the Eastern Tartars, it would be better for the Khan to send troops to disguise themselves and guard outside Xuanfu Town. When the Eastern Tartars get the Ming Dynasty’s grain, they can directly seize it!

If it is difficult to rob, then we can set a fire and burn all the money and food to put an end to the Eastern Tartars' fantasy!"

Shen Weijing came up with a vicious plan, saying viciously: "Although Liaodong Town is not within the sphere of influence of the right wing of the grassland, it is within another sphere of influence of the Ming Dynasty and the Tatars, the Jianzhou Jurchens!
Khan, there is a shortage of food and clothing on the grassland, and even more so in the Northeast. Telling the Jianzhou Jurchens about the cotton products from the Ming Dynasty will surely make them tempted and send troops to plunder.

In this way, the Khan would rob the Eastern Tartars of their food in Xuanfu Town, and the Jianzhou Jurchens would rob the Eastern Tartars of their cotton in Liaodong Town, and the Eastern Tartars would return to their state of hunger and cold.

Then, the Khan can issue orders to all the leaders of the grassland tribes, telling them that the food and cotton that the little prince got were asked by your Khan to be distributed to all the tribesmen so that they can safely get through the cold winter.

In this way, you can establish your prestige on the left and right wings of the grassland, and also create problems for the little prince and the Donglu.

I want to see how the little prince will deal with those prairie wolf-like tribal leaders after his food and cotton have been stolen.

I don’t believe even more that the Ming Dynasty would provide unlimited aid of food, fodder and cotton.

When the little prince is cornered, he will surrender to you, the Khan. At that time, how to deal with this despicable guy, whether to kill or chop him up, is it not up to you, the Khan, to decide?"

"it is good!"

Altan was overjoyed and said excitedly: "Just do as you say, little prince, we'll see!"

Immediately, Altan ordered his eldest son Sengge to lead the cavalry to the outskirts of Xuanfu Town, waiting for the Eastern Tartars to rob them on the road after receiving the food and grass provided by the Ming Dynasty.

He also sent messengers eastward along the road outside the Great Wall to deliver messages to the Jianzhou Jurchens and plunder the cotton products that the Eastern Tartars had obtained from the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Weijing was not idle either. He felt very uncomfortable being "stabbed in the back" by the Ming court. As an envoy to Tatar, what he wanted was not to cooperate with the Ming court, but for the Ming court to cooperate with him.

However, Shen Weijing was not yet so foolish as to blame the Ming Dynasty, but he had thought of a way to warn the Ming Dynasty.

Through countless experiences of getting horses from Tatar and selling them to Wang Chonggu, the governor of Xuanda, Shen Weijing knew that Wang Chonggu and the court would always choose to accept the excessively high prices for horses. Shen Weijing knew that the Ming Dynasty was eager for war horses.

First, reduce the number of horses sold to the Ming Dynasty, and then, at the right time, express to the Ming Dynasty that this was Altan's angry expression of dissatisfaction with the small actions between the Ming Dynasty and the Eastern Tartars.

If you want to continue to obtain war horses from the grassland, you must stop all aid and support to the Eastern Tartars, otherwise you will bear the consequences.

Shen Weijing also prepared a letter and a great gift to send back to the Ming Dynasty, asking his mentor Zhang Juzheng to mediate. If he succeeded in dividing the Eastern Tartars in the future, he would receive another great gift.

(End of this chapter)