I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 100: All the wise men have arrived! The Ming Dynasty's Divine Sword Hai Gangfeng arrives in Beijing
August 27th, afternoon.

In the east of the capital, many people gathered inside and outside Chaoyang Gate.

Businessmen, farmers, fortune tellers, physiognomists, pedicurists, opera singers, coachmen, monks, Taoists, scholars, etc. were all among them.

This was not a special call by anyone, but the people came here voluntarily.

Not long after.

A carriage slowly drove into Chaoyang Gate.

"Mr. Dongya is here! Mr. Dongya is here!" someone shouted excitedly.

This Mr. Dongya.

He is Wang Xi, the second son of Wang Gen, the founder of the Taizhou School and a disciple of Wang Yangming, and the current 66-year-old head of the Taizhou School.

Wang Xi lectured at Dongtao Jingshe Academy.

He advocated the study of the mind, advocated that everyone should be a gentleman, stressed that the daily life of the people is the way, advocated that the country should be governed by the examples of Yao and Shun, and love people equally.

That's why he's so popular.

It is because he cares about the common people and has been teaching and preaching to them continuously for many years. His theories reflect the consciousness of the poor at the bottom.

Since the 27th year of Jiajing, in addition to lecturing and preaching in Taizhou, Wang Xi was successively invited by local officials to give lectures in Hangzhou, Jianning, Nanjing, Suzhou and other places.

Hundreds of people attended his lectures every time, covering all walks of life. The influence of his lectures exceeded that of his father Wang Gen.

He liked to go to the countryside to give lectures on his way.

Because he is close to the common people and can popularize profound principles, he is loved by the grassroots people from all walks of life.

Wang Xi was recommended for official positions many times.

However, he followed the teachings of his father Wang Gen, "I hope he will be a scholar," and never took up an official position in his life.

My life ambition is to bring order to the world through teaching and become a teacher for all ages.

He can be said to be a great scholar among the people whose reputation spread throughout the Ming Dynasty!

Wang Xi did not like the court's rule of law, but his relationship with the court was acceptable because his teaching advocated goodness and beauty, which could maintain stability in the village.

This time, the imperial court also invited him to participate in the discussion of various political schools.

Wang Xi came here not for any utilitarian purpose.

Instead, I came for private academies all over the world and to allow people all over the world to have freedom of speech.

Zhang Juzheng supported many of Wang Xi's academic ideas, but disliked his blind worship of ancient things.

As a change maker.

Zhang Juzheng admired Shang Yang's "Governing the world is not the same, and serving the country is not based on the old ways" and Han Feizi's "Times are different, things are different, and when things are different, be prepared for change."

This is exactly the opposite of Wang Xi's idea of ​​respecting the ancients.

Wang Xi was very elegant and he opened the curtains several times to wave and greet the onlookers.

Some people held up his articles and shouted loudly, hoping that Wang Xi's theories, which tended to be close to the people, would be valued by the court.

Not long after.

After Wang Xi's carriage drove into the west side of Chaoyangmen Street, Wang Xijue, the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, came to greet him personally and arranged accommodation for him.

The imperial court still had great respect for this influential folk scholar.

……

At dusk that day.

Wang Shizhen, the literary leader of the Ming Dynasty, who was suspected to have the pen name Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng and was a contemporary of Zhang Juzheng and who called himself a hermit of Yanzhou, also came to the capital.

Just last month, Wang Shizhen, the then-Minister of the Nanjing Dali Temple, was impeached by the censor.

After investigation, the Ministry of Personnel found that he spent all his time traveling and enjoying poetry and prose, and his performance was very poor, so they dismissed him from his official position and sent him back to his hometown to serve.

Wang Shizhen came to Beijing this time not at the invitation of the court, but on his own initiative.

He has traditional scholar-official thinking.

In literature, it emphasizes "prose must be from the Qin and Han dynasties, and poetry must be from the Tang Dynasty." Politically, it also maintains the feudal ruling order, but opposes the autocracy of powerful officials and the interference of eunuchs in politics.

His purpose of coming to Beijing was to oppose Zhang Juzheng.

He took this opportunity to criticize Jiang Ling's administration.

Although Wang Shizhen was not welcomed by the common people, he was quite popular among scholars and the welcome dinner for him that day had more than ten tables.

……

at the same time.

Luo Rufang, the deputy inspector of Yunnan Province, a proponent of the theory of human nature and a proponent of governing the country with filial piety, brotherhood and kindness, also came to the capital.

After Zhang Juzheng banned private academies and lectures, Luo Rufang openly refused to comply, preferring to give up being an official and continue to lecture.

Compared with Wang Shizhen, he is a good official who does practical work.

After going to Yunnan, he renovated the Kunming dike, dredged Dianchi Lake, and developed water conservancy projects, winning praise from the people.

But he also made some incredible attempts to advocate for his own political views.

For example: When he was the chief official of a local government, he ordered the people who were involved in lawsuits to close their eyes and reflect on their hearts as a way to atone for their sins. He also placed the official seal in the court for the clerks to use.

He is a good man, but also a goody-goody; he is a good official, but sometimes he is also a confused official.

After he arrived in Beijing, he was greeted by his student Tang Xianzu, who had been taught by Luo Rufang and had great respect for him.

……

On August 30th, just when Shen Nian was wondering why Hai Rui had not arrived in Beijing yet.

Two more famous people came, and they came together.

They are He Xinyin and Li Zhi, the former is half a teacher of the latter.

In the eyes of the court, these two people were well-known heretics and were against the mainstream of the court.

He Xinyin's original name was Liang Ruyuan.

The reason he changed his name was because he was worried that the government would arrest him.

At present, he travels around and promotes his political and academic ideas.

Many local officials wanted to find a reason to put him in jail.

He Xinyin is arrogant and looks down on everything, he is really crazy and rebellious.

His ideal in life is: to follow the right path, to achieve great things, and to strive for universal harmony.

There are five human relationships: righteousness between ruler and subject, affection between father and son, order between old and young, distinction between husband and wife, and trust between friends.

He opposed all four and only acknowledged the last one, saying that his friend had faith.

He created a family union called "Cuihetang", where the Liang clan members could eat, live and work together, without being bound by the laws of the Ming Dynasty. It was as if he had built a small court of his own.

They claimed that they had established a charity school similar to Fan Zhongyan's Fan Family Charity House to help the court solve problems.

In fact, he just wanted to break away from the court and govern himself, so as to realize his ideal dream of governing the world.

As for Li Zhi, he was even called the worst heretic.

In addition to agreeing with He Xinyin's views, he also put forward the view of equality between the saints and the ordinary people, and criticized the current court system and civil service order.

In his eyes, all the order in the court was hypocritical.

He opposed abstinence and believed that selfishness was the human heart, which was contrary to the Neo-Confucianists such as Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, Zhang Zai, and Zhu Xi.

The views held were completely anti-court.

He had flawed personal ethics and openly recruited female disciples in the temple, even swimming naked with them.

Those who admire him think he is the most genuine and pure; those who hate him think he is a heretic and a scoundrel.

Li Zhi was still an official at the time.

After hearing the discussion of the Hundred Schools of Thought, he directly submitted a letter of resignation and came to the capital.

……

at the same time.

Guan Zhidao, an official who combined Taoism and Confucianism and advocated removing Confucius from the position of saint, Master Yunqi (Yunqi Yuhong), a Buddhist monk from Yunqi Temple in Hangzhou who advocated using Buddhist teachings to educate the people of the world, and Lu Xixing, a famous Taoist who abandoned Confucianism to practice Taoism, all came to the capital.

Monks and Taoists don't like to talk about politics.

However, private academies throughout the world were the main places for printing Buddhist scriptures and Taoist books. Closing down private academies throughout the world also had a serious impact on their preaching and teaching.

……

The afternoon of the last day of August.

On the wall to the left of the main entrance of the Hanlin Academy, there are still a dozen or so political proposals written by scholars hanging sparsely.

On the second day after Shen Nian asked the scholars to recommend themselves as candidates for the imperial court by using their political proposals, more than a hundred political proposals were hung on the ropes on the wall.

Shen Nian did what he said. He not only read every word, but also wrote a comment.

Shen Nian's comments on some political proposals that were like fly shit were also very harsh.

For example: empty and meaningless, like a baby's babbling in a dream; absurd, every word is rubbish; topsy-turvy, nonsense...

When it comes to swearing, Shen Nian is definitely an expert.

Some scholars with limited talents and who only sought fame had to withdraw their political proposals in shame after being scolded.

They didn't dare to argue with Shen Nian, otherwise Shen Nian might write another article "Worse than Waste".

……

The current capital city is like the boiling water in a teahouse with smoke coming out of the lid.

Scholars and men spoke freely without any taboos.

They chatted from morning to night, and all they talked about was family and national affairs, and the joys and sorrows of the people.

Those pseudo-scholars who used to only talk about singing girls and folk songs in teahouses now dare not open their mouths, and some even dare not go out.

The folk scholars discussed it with great interest and racked their brains to think about it.

The imperial court will naturally not slack off.

Although there are many different folk schools of thought and their political views are different, they all have a common enemy: official orthodoxy.

Almost all schools of mind opposed Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and opposed using the Four Books and Five Classics as models to educate the people.

And these are the core of the official schools of the imperial court.

The selected officials from the Hanlin Academy, the Six Ministries and Six Departments, the Imperial College, the Censorate and other government offices were all making serious preparations, understanding the theories of various schools of thought, and discussing methods of defense.

Although the purpose of the Hundred Schools of Thought was to create new policies and to make scholars all over the world understand and support the court.

Rather than winning or losing.

But if an official is rendered speechless by a lunatic during a discussion of political affairs, his career may come to an abrupt end.

The place where hundreds of schools of thought discussed politics was the Meridian Gate.

Thousands of scholars and scholars would be watching, and if something went wrong, there would be no way to hide it. It would likely spread quickly throughout the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, and even be passed down to future generations as recorded in history books.

September 1st, afternoon.

Just when Shen Nian was wondering why Hai Rui had not yet arrived in Beijing, he suddenly received news from a colleague in the Ministry of Personnel.

Hai Rui had received the imperial edict from the Ministry of Personnel two days ago, and on that day he went to the Censorate in his official uniform, expecting to attend the regular court session on the third day of September.

Shen Nian didn't expect Hai Rui to arrive so quietly.

According to Hai Rui's influence among the people.

When he came to the capital, the number of people lining the streets to welcome him would definitely exceed that of the people who welcomed the great scholar Wang Xi.

But when he thought about it carefully, he suddenly understood.

Only the Ministry of Personnel had a rough idea of ​​Hai Rui's itinerary, and the officials and clerks of the Ministry of Personnel would not tell the people when Hai Rui would arrive.

Because Hai Rui, who was supported by the people, was too destructive.

In the eyes of the common people, Hai Rui was the Honourable Hai; but in the eyes of many officials, Hai Rui was the Sea Monster, the Sea King of Hell.

The officials all hoped that Hai Rui would immediately go to inspect Shanxi after receiving the order. If he stayed in the capital for one more day, they might all be impeached.

All the officials in the capital were afraid of Hai Rui as if he were a tiger.

In addition, Hai Rui must have come to Beijing alone in plain clothes.

At that time, there might not be many people in the capital who could remember his appearance, so no news about him was spread.

After Shen Nian learned that Hai Rui had arrived in Beijing, he planned to visit him and discuss with him whether he could participate in the Hundred Schools of Thought.

Hai Rui was a traditional scholar-official.

He grew up in an educational environment of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, strictly adhered to the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, but in his conduct he followed the unity of knowledge and action of the School of Mind.

The person Hai Rui admired most was Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang.

He believed that current officials complained about their low salaries because they were too selfish; he believed that all the ugly mistakes in the court and among the people were due to people's failure to follow the teachings of the saints and ancestors.

He was very traditional, but also supported Zhang Juzheng's performance evaluation system and the single whip system.

However, in his eyes, none of the officials in the court could be called gentlemen, including Zhang Juzheng.

He Xinyin, Li Zhi and others opposed imperial autocracy, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, and overly strict laws because there were too many hypocrites in the court.

If they met Hai Rui, they would definitely be refuted and speechless.

Especially Li Zhi.

He and Hai Rui are like yin and yang, two opposites, but he is the moon, while Hai Rui is the dazzling sun.

When Hai Rui stood in front of the crowd, he represented the moral standard, the laws of the Ming Dynasty, the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, and the ancestral laws of the Ming Dynasty.

At present, Shen Nian has not yet asked the cabinet to ask Hai Rui to participate in the discussion of politics.

On the one hand, the cabinet might not agree, and on the other hand, he had to seek Hai Rui's opinion first.

The cabinet disagreed because once Hai Rui opened his mouth, he might not only attack heretics, but also all the scholars and officials in the court.

In Hai Rui's eyes, the current world was far from Zhu Yuanzhang's Hongwu reign. The court was full of loopholes in laws, ancestral systems, and morals.

Shen Nian wanted to seek Hai Rui's opinion first.

This is because Hai Rui is already a 63-year-old man, and his physical condition is still unknown. If his health is not good, such a huge burden cannot be placed on him.

……

Near dusk.

Shen Nian arrived at the Censorate and told the clerk in the front hall that he wanted to meet Hai Rui, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

Not long after.

The clerk came trotting over and said, "Editor Shen, Haiqianyuan (the honorific title for the Chief Censor) invites you in."

Then, Shen Nian walked into Hai Rui's public housing.

As soon as he reached the door, he saw Hai Rui sitting at the table and reading documents.

His temples were gray, his face was thin, his eyes were deep, and his sitting posture was very upright, like a piece of angular stone.

"Shen Nian, editor of the Hanlin Academy, pays his respects to the Haiqian Academy!" Shen Nian bowed.

Hai Rui put down his pen, stood up, and looked at Shen Nian. "As expected, his writing reflects his personality. What a graceful demeanor! What a graceful demeanor!"

Followed by.

The two sat down at the tea table and started chatting.

Hai Rui looked even more excited than Shen Nian.

He first told Shen Nian the reason why he wrote the letter for Shen Nian, and then began to talk about the current state affairs.

After Hai Rui reported to the Ministry of Personnel, he found and carefully examined a series of documents related to Shanxi's political, military, and commercial affairs.

The two chatted happily.

Shen Nian could see that during the two days he had been in the Censorate, no officials had paid any attention to him.

Everyone was avoiding him.

Seeing Hai Rui's rosy complexion and full of energy, Shen Nian couldn't help but get to the point.

"Mr. Hai, would you be willing to participate in the Double Ninth Festival political discussion before heading to Shanxi?"

Hai Rui thought about it, then shook his head slightly.

"I'm full of inappropriate things to say, but few people want to listen. I'd better go and inspect Shanxi as soon as possible!"

Shen Nian saw a hint of loneliness flash across Hai Rui's eyes and immediately understood what he was thinking.

Hai Rui had been in officialdom for many years. How could he not know that inspecting Shanxi and thoroughly investigating the collusion between Shanxi officials and merchants would offend people and lead to being framed, which would lead to the loss of one's reputation in old age or even death.

He was not afraid of this.

But he knew.

The court only treated him as a sword, a sword that could be drawn when needed and sheathed immediately when not needed.

He was afraid that if he expressed his inappropriate thoughts, the court would directly dismiss him and he would lose the assignment to inspect Shanxi.

Shen Nian looked at Hai Rui.

"Hai Lao, the court ordered you to inspect Shanxi for the new policy, and the court held the Hundred Schools of Thought for the new policy as well."

"During the past few days since you came to the capital, you should have seen that many people have no regard for the imperial court and want to defeat the imperial school. Many scholars have no sense of the overall situation. In their eyes, the people are just scholars. But the people in the imperial court's heart, the people in your heart, are all the people of my Ming Dynasty. I hope you are here. With you, the Ming Dynasty laws will be stable, the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues will be stable, and the current new policies will be stable!"

"You know that teaching alone cannot govern the world, and morality alone cannot rule the country. Without the constraints of imperial laws, the Ming Dynasty will collapse and face the danger of overthrow. The current new policies may still have many flaws in your eyes, but they can gradually prosper the Ming Dynasty. I hope you can stand at the forefront of this Hundred Schools of Thought Forum. Even if you just stand there and don't say anything, it will be of great benefit to the new policies."

"As long as you agree, I will make a request to the cabinet. As for the inspection of Shanxi, it won't be a problem if it's half a month later!"

After saying this, Shen Nian bowed deeply towards Hai Rui.

In his eyes, Hai Rui alone was worth a thousand scholars and officials.

When Hai Rui stood in front of the Meridian Gate, he could make anyone with selfish thoughts afraid to speak.

Hai Rui's face was solemn.

He knew what Shen Nian wanted him to do, and he also knew what he could do.

He saw in Shen Nian's eyes the same righteousness and tenacity that he had when he first entered the officialdom.

"I promise you!" Hai Rui said solemnly.

He understands everything, but he is unwilling to go along with this corrupt world. However, for the sake of the new policy and the people of the Ming Dynasty, he can compromise on certain things and choose to put the overall situation first.

Shen Nian was immediately overjoyed.

His eyes welled up, and he couldn't help but give Hai Rui a tight hug. He then said excitedly, "Mr. Hai, on behalf of all the young people in the world, thank you!"

……

Early the next morning, the cabinet was on duty.

Hanlin scholar Ma Ziqiang appeared in front of Zhang Juzheng with Shen Nian.

"What? Let Hai Gangfeng participate in the discussion of various political opinions? No, no!" Zhang Juzheng shook his head repeatedly.

In Zhang Juzheng's heart.

Hai Rui is a double-edged sword, capable of attacking heretics among the people as well as the imperial court.

"Hae Gangfeng is too stubborn. Although he doesn't deny Neo-Confucianism or the New Policies, some of his standards and doctrines are too high and too strict, making him prone to attacking the government along with people like Wang Shizhen."

Hearing this, Ma Ziqiang and Shen Nian looked at each other.

The two felt that Zhang Juzheng was afraid, fearing that Hai Rui would also bring up the issue of powerful officials monopolizing power and eunuchs interfering in politics.

Hai Rui's lethality is much greater than Wang Shizhen's. Behind him stand the ancestral teachings of the Ming Dynasty and millions of people.

Of course, what Zhang Juzheng said about Hai Rui's standards being too high and too strict is also true.

For example: When Hai Rui was the magistrate of Chun'an County, after taking office, he checked the regular income of Chun'an County and found that the regular income accumulated to more than one thousand taels of silver.

He immediately ordered the abolition of all common practices in Chun'an County.

This common practice was not only for Hai Rui, the county magistrate, but also for the county magistrate, the chief clerk, the legal advisor, the instructor, the yamen runners, etc.

This led to a number of officials resigning.

Then Hai Rui took over the affairs of the county magistrate and the chief clerk, and recruited cheap yamen runners. He supported his entire family by relying on a monthly salary of five taels of silver and by reclaiming wasteland in the backyard of the government office.

Then, he single-handedly governed Chun'an County, where the people were simple and honest, and the county prospered.

If this kind of "saintly" behavior were to be promoted nationwide, no one would be willing to be an official anymore.

Shen Nian bowed and said, "Lord, although Hai Qianyuan has a straight-forward character, he is by no means a pedantic person. For the sake of the new policy and the Ming Dynasty, he will naturally stand with the court."

"Also, to completely suppress those heretics, we still need to rely on public opinion. Of all the people in the court, only the Haiqianyuan is the most suitable. For the sake of the new policy, please be flexible in your appointments."

"There has never been a prime minister in the Ming Dynasty who was not scolded, but for the new policy, everything is worth it!" Shen Nian bowed heavily again.

aside.

Ma Ziqiang puffed out his chest and glared at Shen Nian, "How could the elder not dare to use Hai Gangfeng just because he was scolded?"

Zhang Juzheng rolled his eyes at Ma Ziqiang. How could he not see that the two were acting in collusion?

However, Zhang Juzheng always attached great importance to Ma Ziqiang's opinions.

This time, the Hundred Schools of Thought discussion is essentially playing with fire.

If it could help the new policy, Zhang Juzheng would not mind lifting the ban on private academies and allowing students to comment on politics; if it caused chaos in the world's academic thought, Zhang Juzheng would definitely arrest those who should be arrested and kill those who should be killed.

At this time.

Ma Ziqiang added: "Lord, sometimes, it may be more appropriate for Hai Gangfeng to represent the court and stand at the front than for you to stand at the front."

Zhang Juzheng stroked his long beard, thought for a moment, and said, "Although this may be unpleasant to hear, it makes sense. Let him come!"

Shen Nian suddenly let out a long sigh and a bright smile appeared on his face.

(End of this chapter)