The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

"What a shame, what a shame."

Zhu Houzhao returned to the Duanjing Hall and had a tantrum, only repeating these words.

Several eunuchs in the Eastern Palace were terrified.

Who insulted this little ancestor?
But no one dared to go up and ask, and finally everyone unanimously elected Gao Feng to be the captain of the suicide squad to comfort the prince's wounded heart.

"Your Highness, it's already very late and you haven't had your meal yet." Gao Feng said with a look of grievance, "It has been reheated twice. If you don't eat it, His Majesty will know..."

"Asshole, do you think I'll be hungry? I'm so angry that I'm full of anger." Zhu Houzhao seemed to have found an outlet.

Gao Feng said, "How can we not have a meal? Your Highness, if you have any grievances, please tell me and I will do my best to help you get back on your feet."

"Bah." Zhu Houzhao said angrily, "Do I need you to get back at her? Even I can't do anything to her! She is my sister, you want me to beat her up? Or exile her from the palace?"

When Gao Feng heard this, she immediately felt that this was someone else's family affair and that she was here to bring bad luck upon herself.

But then he realized that the little princess had just gone to the Wenhua Palace to attend a class. How could she have made the prince so angry?
Zhu Houzhao said, "I finally understand. Now she is relying on the support of the emperor and starts to ignore me! No, I must let her know who is the emperor's favorite child."

"what?"

When Gao Feng heard these words, she thought to herself, this is quite novel. Are you planning to compete for favor?
It's fine that you're competing for favor with the Second Prince, but from what you're saying, you're competing for favor with your sister? Is it worth it?
No matter how powerful a princess is, she has no reason to have a big conflict with you. After all, she doesn't even interfere with your position as crown prince. What else do you want to do?
"Wait." Zhu Houzhao said, "Everyone go out first. I will plan everything here. I will make sure she knows how incompetent she is! Let's see how she can fight me in the future."

……

……

Zhang Zhou is going back to Beijing.

After returning, he went to see Xie Qian in Xie Qian's mansion.

Although it was late autumn and the weather was beginning to get colder, Xie Qian still chose the courtyard as the venue for the meeting and even had someone tidy up the courtyard.

When Zhang Zhou came, he didn't act stiff but came out to greet him personally. Even when his son Xie Zheng wanted to come over, he held out his hand to refuse him, meaning that this was just a conversation between me and Zhang and had nothing to do with others.

After sitting down in the yard.

Xie Qian picked up the teapot and poured tea for Zhang Zhou. His attitude was quite polite.

Zhang Zhou said, "Are you used to living here, Lord Xie? As far as I know, this coastal area is not like the capital. It is very humid, hot and humid in the summer and cold and humid in the winter. Most elderly people are not used to the weather here, especially those who are used to living inland."

Xie Qian didn't say anything, but took out something and handed it to Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou took it, but did not open it immediately. Instead, he asked, "What is this?"

"I have recorded all the bad deeds of officials in the court, including those in the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works," Xie Qian said. "I know the court wants to investigate the corruption. I am no longer in the court and I am no longer a minister. I will do what I can."

Zhang Zhou didn't expect that Xie Qian would take the initiative to expose his colleagues?

Zhang Zhou did not open it, but put it back on the table and asked, "Will this damage the reputation of Lord Xie?"

Xie Qian said: "If there are lawless people in the court, we should investigate them according to the law and report their illegal behavior. Isn't that what a minister should do? I know what you are thinking. Don't mind it too much. I am different from them."

It seems that Xie Qian now wants to clearly distance himself from Liu Jian and Li Dongyang.

Zhang Zhou thought to himself, no one would believe that you are any different from them.

"Then... go check it later." Zhang Zhou took the list back and put it in his arms.

Xie Qian asked, "What are the plans for this city in the future? I heard that a fleet may be coming back soon. There are said to be a large number of silver mines overseas. If so much silver comes back, the value of silver in the market will definitely depreciate, and the people will suffer."

Zhang Zhou said: "Excessive money issuance will indeed lead to currency depreciation, but it will also speed up market circulation, because the market economic system of the Ming Dynasty is still imperfect, and the circulation of money is needed to bring vitality to the market. Xie Ge Lao, do you know what I am talking about?"

In the past, Xie Qian would definitely not understand.

But now he has been in Binhai City for almost a year. If he is not influenced by this special environment after being immersed in it for a long time, then he is really stubborn.

Xie Qian shook his head and said, "Although I didn't understand it very well, I can roughly understand it. Can I understand it this way, you rely on this silver to dilute the value of silver in the folks, so as to create wealth for the court?"

Zhang Zhou said, "They are all silver. The batch brought back from overseas is of better quality. Even the Ming Dynasty mined silver every year, but this time they mined more. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"It seems...to be right." Xie Qian thought about it and couldn't find any fault with it.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Thank you, Lord. There is a lot of silver in the new city now, and the circulation is also large. Do you think the goods will depreciate when you see them? Or do you think the wealth here cannot be circulated if it is placed somewhere else?"

Xie Qian said: "Silver is silver. The Ming Dynasty is always short of this thing. The court wants to increase taxes every year, but it has no way to do it. If you can bring some income to the court and ensure that the wealth of the people is not emptied, then you will be a meritorious official of the Ming Dynasty."

"Oh?"

Zhang Zhou looked at Xie Qian curiously.

It was also the first time that he received positive affirmation from traditional civil officials, although these words came from the mouth of Xie Qian, who had already lost his power.

And this statement also comes with a precondition, it is not a direct affirmation of him.

But this also represents progress.

Xie Qian said helplessly: "Before I came here, I really couldn't understand why you, a scholar who was born as a top scholar, had to go through so much trouble to do your own thing in the Hanlin Academy? But after coming here and observing for a period of time, I found that... there are indeed many differences."

"There is a vitality inside and outside this city. This vitality is different from the outside world, and even different from the capital. Even I can't describe it. But I feel that if this vitality can be extended to all parts of Ming Dynasty, perhaps Ming Dynasty will really have a chance of revival."

Zhang Zhou laughed and said, "Is this considered as Elder Xie's praise for me?"

Xie Qian said: "You have done a good job, and you are not afraid of others knowing it. Am I an unreasonable person?"

Zhang Zhou thought, isn’t it?

You, a bunch of traditional civil officials, are the ones who care most about positions rather than reason. As long as my position and camp are different from yours, no matter how much I do, you will deny it.

Until now, the civil servants are still thinking about me competing with the people for profits and saying that I am bringing disaster to the country and the people.

The Confucian tradition is to deny the achievements of political opponents from various tricky angles, to say that good things are bad, and to attack opponents by virtue of different positions.

Zhang Zhou said, "Thank you, Lord. Apart from the list, do you have anything else to do today? I'm going back to Beijing soon. If you have anything you want me to try to do, you can tell me. Maybe I can help you."

Zhang Zhou can be said to be "returning a favor".

Since you have recognized my achievements, I can do something for you. It can't be called equalization, but a disguised reconciliation. Xie Qian shook his head and said, "I just want to know, what book did you do? And, where did you learn all this from? I have read the classics of all dynasties and read all the classics, history and miscellaneous collections I have handled, but I have never seen where all this came from, let alone where to explore."

"Oh, is it just your desire to know more?" Zhang Zhou said with a smile, "Then Lord Xie will be disappointed. In fact, this kind of change already exists among the people, but Lord Xie has been in a high position for a long time and cannot see it."

"Impossible." Xie Qian said, "Although my eyesight is blurry, I am not so blind as to close my eyes and ears."

Zhang Zhou said righteously: "There are many ways for ordinary people to accumulate wealth. Don't miners have them? There are people who smelt steel? It's just that they are suppressed by officials and cannot make a difference."

"Besides, miners are often occupied by local government. There were coal mines everywhere in Xishan before I started mines, but the output was lower and could not meet today's standards."

"The Emperor has been building ships every year, but the funds for shipbuilding are extremely limited, and the people at all levels are enriching themselves, so the money actually used for shipbuilding is very little. The ships built naturally cannot withstand the raging waves, and naturally cannot travel across the ocean. But was it my idea to go to sea? Was Zheng He's voyage very far away?"

"Also, even if there are some new industries in this new city, most of them exist among the people. But they cannot take root and sprout in other places because the government and local forces do not tolerate them. I just provided them with a breeding ground."

Zhang Zhou talked freely.

After saying this, even the eloquent Xie Qian was speechless.

After a while, Xie Qian asked, "Is it fundamentally our... limitation?"

In Zhang Zhou's view, this "we" means that Xie Qian has awakened and realized that the traditional civil officials' faction's suppression of private capital has resulted in the inability to boost the vitality of the private market economy.

Zhang Zhou said: "You can also say that merchants pursue profits, whether they are scholars or ordinary people, who doesn't pursue profits? Your Majesty may not care about these things in the past, and there are too many restrictions. Now that Your Majesty is determined to pacify the grassland, he needs profit-seeking people to help the court gain profits, so there is today's change. I... just happened to be there."

"Ugh!"

Xie Qian sighed heavily.

He seemed to be convinced by Zhang Zhou.

An old man, after experiencing the ups and downs of officialdom and struggling at the bottom, finally understood the root cause of the Ming Dynasty's backwardness.

Although he arrived a little late... Zhang Zhou also felt that it was not easy to make such an old stubborn person accept these things.

Zhang Zhou said, "Master Xie, do you really have nothing else to do? Do you need my help? I don't have much time, so I have to leave first."

Xie Qian smiled and shook his head, saying, "Yes, you are here and have talked to me for so long, which is a great honor. If it were someone else, they would have long forgotten that there is a dying person here."

Zhang Zhou thought to himself, you still have a long life, at least twenty years left, but as a young and strong emperor, it is hard to say how long you will live.

At least in history, your life has stood the test of time.

"When you have time, you can come again. I don't have anything else here, but I still have tea and we can talk." Xie Qian smiled and stood up to see him off. "I am doing things for you now, so you can just think of it as my guidance."

Zhang Zhou also stood up and said, "Thank you, Elder Lord, for being so polite. I am more like a student in front of you and I can't teach you anything."

Xie Qian said: "There must be a teacher among three people, so let's learn from each other."

……

……

Zhang Zhou talked with Xie Qian for a long time, and when he came out, he almost forgot what they talked about.

After thinking about it carefully, it was probably because Xie Qian was changing his mindset, and I came here to add fuel to the fire, to make Xie Qian realize that his previous perception was wrong...

But for him.

Is there any great significance in reforming Xie Qian as a person?

Does he still expect Xie Qian to help him reform others in the future?
"We would like to pay a visit to Zhang Butang. Please pass on the message." Some people were talking outside and it seemed a bit noisy.

Liu Gui was leading people to stop this group of people from moving forward.

Zhang Zhou walked over, because he saw that the people coming were a group of young people, and the one leading them was Li Zhaoxian, whom he had met several times.

He fought me to the death, but I didn't hesitate to come to Binhai City... Zhang Zhou also heard that Li Zhaoxian was promoting Xinxue in Binhai City, and even a group of people joined the academy, and another group of people joined the city construction.

This is something worth promoting.

In the eyes of those old Confucian officials, he was an outlier, but he had a high reputation among young scholars, which showed that the Ming Dynasty could still be saved.

"Isn't that Master Li?" Zhang Zhou smiled and waved his hand.

Liu Gui then made way for Li Zhaoxian to come over with a man in his twenties.

"Greetings, Mr. Zhang." Li Zhaoxian is about the same age as Zhang Zhou, but he is very respectful to Zhang Zhou and treats him like a gentleman.

Zhang Zhou said, "Mr. Li, you are too polite."

Li Zhaoxian said, "Someone saw Mr. Zhang's car coming here, so we came here specially. Are you here to meet Mr. Xie?"

Zhang Zhou smiled.

what is this?
Are you here to interview me?

Zhang Zhou probably knew that what he said today would most likely be spread to the streets by people like Li Zhaoxian in front of him, and it would be no different from an interview in essence.

Zhang Zhou said, "Yes, I am a minister in the same palace with Lord Xie. I am leaving Binhai City today and came here specially to meet you. We will discuss the affairs of state and exchange opinions."

A group of scholars behind him were shocked when they heard this.

It turns out that this Duke of Cai also had dealings with the traditional civil officials and ministers, and even met with them privately. This shows that the rumors are wrong. Who said that the two sides are at loggerheads?

"Mr. Li, why did you come to see me?" Zhang Zhou asked again.

Li Zhaoxian said, "We are promoting the School of Mind here, and we need you to write an inscription for us so that more people can come and receive our lectures. Do you think this is convenient?"

"Yes, Mr. Zhang, please write the inscription."

A group of people seemed like fans, waiting for Zhang Zhou to write an inscription for the society.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "That's fine, but it can only be applied to academic studies. I'll have someone give the calligraphy to you later." (End of this chapter)