Cyber ​​Daming

Chapter 613 The emperor’s heart is unpredictable
For Emperor Jiaqi, today is the day when the Prime Minister gives him lectures.

He had a vague feeling that the content of this lecture would be extremely important, and might even be another turning point that would have a profound impact on the empire.

Therefore, Emperor Jiaqi did not dare to slack off for a moment. After completing the routine morning classes, he hurried to the place where the class was held.

In this huge building that was like a city, the little emperor deliberately changed into a simple long gown commonly seen among the disciples of Confucianism, and walked quickly alone.

He was accompanied by neither a canopy or a huge number of Yanren servants. This was unprecedented among emperors of all dynasties.

In the dynasties before the Ming Empire, even the last emperor who was unable to save the declining empire would not be in such a miserable situation.

But Emperor Jiaqi had already become accustomed to this, and it was even his initiative that had been requested.

Since ascending the throne, Emperor Jiaqi took the initiative to reduce all expenses in the palace and expelled a large number of servants from the palace.

If the cabinet had not petitioned to keep the necessary personnel to maintain the normal lives of other royal family members, I am afraid that many floors of this palace would have been abandoned due to lack of care.

Similarly, although the Huangliang Dream was not banned in the palace, the little emperor had always been very conscious and almost never actively linked in.

Even if there is an occasional connection, it is just to enter a permanent dream of Confucian order such as the New Donglin Academy.

In a nutshell, the person who most often accompanied Emperor Jiaqi in these years, apart from the Confucian sages of all dynasties, was the current Prime Minister, the Imperial Tutor of the Ming Dynasty, Zhang Fengyue.

"Teacher, you are early again."

When the little emperor arrived at the place of class, Zhang Fengyue was already waiting there.

"Your Majesty, this is just the duty of an old minister."

Zhang Fengyue lifted his robe and was about to kneel down to salute, but he saw the little emperor, who had expected this, step forward and take hold of his arms first.

"I've told you so many times, teacher, you don't have to do this. We are teacher and student here. There is no reason in the world for a teacher to kneel down to a student."

The little emperor pretended to complain with a smile in his eyes.

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhang Fengyue was not pedantic and stood up.

Regardless of the rumors outside, at least the two of them are getting along very harmoniously right now.

"Teacher, is there any progress on the bandi matter?"

As soon as he sat down, the little emperor couldn't wait to ask.

"Everyone who should have arrived has arrived, and everything is going smoothly."

Zhang Fengyue spoke in a flat tone and passed it over in just one sentence.

The little emperor was greatly disappointed that he did not hear the twists and turns and the open and secret struggles between various forces that he had expected.

He asked with lingering thoughts: "Teacher, is Sangyan Temple going to be destroyed so easily? After all, it is one of the major forces of the Buddhist Order. It can't be without any resistance, right?"

"Whether the power is big enough depends on who you compare it with. In front of the imperial court, Sangyan Temple is just a slightly larger ant. Compared with other forces that have already taken their seats and are sharpening their knives, Sangyan Temple has become a lonely and isolated force. Even if they fight, they are willing but unable to do so."

The little emperor sighed with some boredom, but he knew in his heart that this was the fact.

When you stand on the opposite side of interests, your end will be to be crushed into ashes by the "trend" represented by the majority.

The exhilarating feeling of rising against the odds and fighting one's way out of a desperate situation may only exist in the pipe dreams constructed based on vernacular novels.

In reality, even the slightest disadvantage can be fatal.

Not to mention that the manipulator behind the scenes is his own teacher.

"Teacher, how did Sangyan Temple fall to this state?" the little emperor asked.

"madness."

Zhang Fengyue said succinctly: "In the two Buddhist order of Han and Fan, Lingjia Po is not the only one who knows that she has taken the wrong path. Everyone is watching secretly, but she is the only one who chooses to be the first to stand out, and naturally she will become the target of public criticism. The tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind, this is exactly the truth."

The little emperor was silent for a moment, then asked tentatively: "Teacher, I don't think this is stupid, right?"

In his opinion, if Lingpa really wanted to save the Buddhist order from going astray and took the lead, then even if the final outcome was not good, he should not be evaluated as "stupid".

Instead, it gives people a sense of the heroism of "Buddha cutting off his flesh to feed the eagle" in Buddhist allusion.

"Being fearless doesn't mean you're not stupid."

Zhang Fengyue said calmly, "The only one who would sacrifice himself for others is the dead Buddha, not the living Buddha Order. Her idea is nothing more than to complete the promotion first, so as to integrate the entire Buddha Order and become a true Buddha on earth."

"Lingapo's folly was that he overestimated himself and thought he had the ability to get the skin of a tiger. He also underestimated the ruthlessness and mental planning of other Buddhist orders."

"So that's how it is. Then this Buddha Sang Yan's death really deserves no pity."

The little emperor suddenly realized, and the emotion in his eyes suddenly turned into a disdainful sneer.

"But teacher, you always taught me that people's hearts are complicated and we can't just look at one side. Did Lingjia Po never think that he would be attacked by everyone one day when he chose to do this? Someone who can be promoted to the third rank shouldn't be so ignorant of himself, right?"

"The desire for sequence power and the power over all living beings is enough to make a person sacrifice his own life. Even if he knows that what others hand over may be a deadly poison, he will not hesitate to do something that will only quench his thirst."

At this point, a smile suddenly appeared on Zhang Fengyue's face: "Those who plotted to harm Foxu are really vicious."

The little emperor was startled and blurted out: "Teacher, isn't it you?"

"I just went with the flow. I wasn't the one who led these bald asses astray."

The little emperor was dumbfounded and shocked for a moment.

You have to know that in this scam that has been planned for decades, the victims are not just a certain force or a certain person, but an entire sequence, covering more than tens of millions of people.

Moreover, the whole scam was so ingeniously designed that it enabled Buddhism to successfully become one of the three religions in the beginning.

If the Buddhist masters of the mountain gate had not discovered the problem when they were seeking to be promoted to the second rank, the Buddhist rank would probably still be kept in the dark until now.

Now Zhang Fengyue actually said that he was not the one who planned it, which was completely beyond the little emperor's expectations.

Then, apart from his teacher, who else in the Ming Empire could be so talented?
The little emperor licked his lips nervously, and after thinking for a moment, he asked, "Teacher, I saw in the memorial sent back by Liu Jinxun that someone from Longhu Mountain has also arrived in the aboriginal land, and claimed that they came to assist the court in investigating the truth under the order of the previous 'Zhang Tianshi'. Could it be that the person who designed to harm the Buddhist order is really the new Taoist order?"

"Zhang Xiji doesn't have the brains for it yet."

Zhang Fengyue laughed contemptuously and said, "The new school of Taoism was doing very well back then, but it was ruined because of his eagerness for quick success. How could he have the ability to set up such a scam?"

"The only thing he did in his life that made me look up to him was that he saved his life from Master Zhang and patiently hid until today. The rest is not worth mentioning."

The little emperor murmured to himself: "If it's not him, then who could it be?"

Zhang Fengyue did not give a direct answer, but ended the discussion about the situation in the foreign land and turned to check the progress of the little emperor's "Six Arts".

The one-hour class ended in the blink of an eye.

Zhang Fengyue stood up and took his leave. The little emperor, full of questions, walked alone in the floor named 'Fengtian Hall'.

"It's not Zhang Fengyue, nor is it Zhang Xiji. Who else could be the one who can fool around with the Buddhist order, one of the three religions?"

"Could it be the Nongxu that has been hiding in the aboriginal land for many years without showing any signs of existence? Or is it the Yin-Yangxu that has always been outside the empire? Or is this simply the Buddhaxu directing and acting on his own?"

A class that was meant to answer questions actually caused more doubts in Emperor Jiaqi's mind.

He was eager to find the other party, because the person or force that could do this would definitely be a major threat to the Ming Empire. "But why should I consider so much? With the teacher in charge, can the other party still cause any trouble?"

The little emperor spoke to himself, and the solemnity between his brows immediately disappeared.

He raised his hand and stretched, but suddenly his steps paused, and he looked sharply at a huge circular building shaped like an altar not far away.

It is the most important place in the entire Fengtian Hall, the Taimiao of the Ming Dynasty imperial family.

"It's really troublesome."

The little emperor closed his eyes, raised his hand to smooth his frown, and walked towards the Taimiao.

In the building that symbolizes the roundness of the heaven and the squareness of the earth, the offerings on the altar are as vast as the sea and arranged like a mountain.

In addition to the direct descendants of the Zhu royal family, there are also important officials who have made contributions to the Ming Dynasty throughout the ages.

The one sitting at the highest point of Paishan is naturally Emperor Hongwu, the founding ancestor of the Ming Dynasty, and the one sitting below is Emperor Yizong, the leader of the empire's revival.

This placement was obviously not in line with the ancestral system of the empire, but Emperor Longwu rejected all objections and stated, "Not just ancestors, but only merits," and placed Emperor Yizong's tablet before many ancestors.

However, Emperor Jiaqi, who had entered the Taimiao, had no intention of worshipping at all. His solemn gaze fell on a figure kneeling in front of the altar.

"I, your Majesty, bow to you, old minister."

The figure kneeling on the mat heard footsteps behind him, and hurriedly turned around and bowed.

Emperor Jiaqi waved his sleeves and said, "Stand up."

The man who was kowtowing then raised his head, revealing the face of none other than the King of Min of the Ming Empire, Zhu Pingyan.

"When did you come back?"

When Zhu Pingyan heard this, his face suddenly showed a look of shame, and he said sadly: "To reply to your majesty, I just arrived."

"It's good to be back."

The little emperor nodded, then suddenly changed the subject and shouted in a low voice: "Don't you know that today is the day I give a lecture? How dare you show up at this time?!"

"It was my recklessness. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."

Zhu Pingyan's face was filled with fear, and he leaned forward and kowtowed again.

But just as his forehead was about to hit the gold bricks on the ground, a delicate hand suddenly reached in and supported Zhu Pingyan's forehead.

"Uncle Wang, you are usually very mature and prudent. It is impossible for you to make such a mistake without any reason. You must have encountered some emergency during the time you disappeared, right?"

Zhu Pingyan raised his head and looked at the pair of weathered eyes in front of him that were completely inconsistent with the childish face.

"His Majesty."

The little emperor smiled and helped Zhu Pingyan up.

"Tell me, what happened?"

"When I was in Nanchang Prefecture, Jiangxi Province, trying to subdue Li Jun, I was discovered by Zhang Xiji."

Zhu Pingyan calmed down and said in a deep voice: "He imprisoned the old minister on Mount Longhu, and let me witness with my own eyes how he devoured the authority of the heads of other Daoxian sects. Now the celestial seats of Gezhao and Maoshan have fallen into his hands. I am afraid it won't be long before he can return to the second place."

"Old people who refuse to die are demons. None of these older generation figures who have survived to this day are simple people."

The young emperor sighed with a stern look of old age, "But this Tianshi Zhang captured and released you, Uncle Wang. I'm afraid he didn't just want to save face for our Zhu Ming royal family, right?"

Zhu Pingyan said in a difficult tone: "Your Majesty has a keen eye. He wants to meet with you through this old minister."

"Meet?"

The little emperor smiled and said, "Uncle Wang, did you tell him about our Zhu family?"

"no!"

Zhu Pingyan quickly denied: "I have never revealed any information about your Majesty, please understand!"

"Then why would he want to meet me, a powerless little emperor?"

Zhu Pingyan swallowed his saliva and said, "Zhang Xiji said that he can help your majesty take back the power from Zhang Fengyue. As long as you..."

"Just what?"

"As long as you promise to make him the state teacher after you take power, and establish the new Taoist order as the state religion of the Ming Dynasty, he will help Your Majesty eliminate Zhang Fengyue and his son and the New Donglin Party."

The little emperor smiled and asked, "Uncle Wang, what do you think?"

Zhu Pingyan's expression brightened, and he said hurriedly: "This old minister thinks that this is a good opportunity to drive away the wolf and swallow the tiger."

"Drive the wolf to devour the tiger. Hahahaha."

The little emperor shook his head and laughed: "Even if we can really kill the tiger, there will still be a hungry wolf coveting our side. What difference will this make from now?"

Zhu Pingyan's face turned pale, and he was about to kneel down again: "This old minister was not thoughtful enough."

"Uncle Wang, it's not that you are inconsiderate, it's that you are probably no longer that person." The little emperor sighed, looking helpless.

As soon as these words were spoken, Zhu Pingyan was struck by lightning, and his whole body was fixed in a position with his knees bent and his back bent.

"If Zhang Xiji just wanted you to pass on a message, he wouldn't have kept you in prison for so long. Uncle Wang, you are really confused."

Zhu Pingyan's eyes were blank: "Your Majesty, this old minister really didn't..."

The weak voice was interrupted by the little emperor raising his hand. He stared into Zhu Pingyan's eyes with a faint smile on his face.

"Master Zhang, I know you are listening. If you are interested in being my teacher, that's fine. I have already learned Confucianism, so I might as well turn to Taoism. But if you want to learn from Zhang Fengyue, then I am not interested."

The little emperor smiled and said, "Also, remember not to attack the royal family again. They are all royal relatives of the Ming Dynasty, my blood relatives. It is a capital crime to attack them. Do you understand?"

After saying this, the little emperor no longer looked at those eyes that contained a dim light, and reached out to press Zhu Pingyan's shoulder.

"Uncle Wang, you have done your best over the years. It is time to vacate your position and give the younger generation a chance to emerge."

The old man, who was about to kneel down, felt his knees soften when he heard this and he fell to his knees with a thud.

"His Majesty."

"Uncle Wang, there is no need to say anything else. Please apologize in front of all the ancestors."

The emotionless and cold voice floated down from above his head, and the biting chill made Zhu Pingyan shiver all over.

"The old minister obeys the order"

"Yes, what? The Living Buddha Naqu just died, and now they want us to leave the aboriginal land. Is the cabinet crazy?"

In the camp of Nagqu City.

Zhang Siyuan stared at Liu Jinxun opposite him with angry eyes.

(End of this chapter)