Early Ming Dynasty: Turning Clouds and Rains into New Learning Saints

Chapter 85
When Li Qi heard this, he immediately felt gloating.

His biggest rivals as Prince Consort are Mei Yin and Zhang Yifan.

Mei Yin's advantage is that he is indeed a talented person, but his young age and lack of experience are his shortcomings.Unexpectedly, at the beginning of the palace examination, before his strengths were revealed, he was looking for death and dared to speak against the emperor!
This opponent can be eliminated.

As for Zhang Yifan, his biggest advantage is that he is in good terms with the eldest princess and has the support of King Yan.In addition, the East Palace is actually vaguely supportive, at least the Crown Princess’s intention is clear.

Unexpectedly, the emperor actually came to him and asked him to talk about the empty seal case in a bad tone.

If he is smart enough, he can learn to praise the emperor directly, otherwise, he will be eliminated!

For some reason, Li Qi suddenly felt that it was not as difficult as he thought to win the position of Prince Consort!

Li Shanchang and Hu Weiyong, who had been trolled by Zhang Yifan, were also gloating, thinking in their hearts, it would be best if this country boy trolled like Mei Yin!

Naturally, there are some people who are worried. Just as Li Qi thought, King Yan was worried.

In addition, Queen Ma is actually a little worried because she actually likes Zhang Yifan.At this time, I was already thinking that if my husband gets angry later, considering how hard he worked for Jing Jing, he would have to intercede for him once.

To be honest, Queen Ma actually saw her own shadow in Zhang Yifan.

When Zhu Yuanzhang was imprisoned and about to starve to death, she was desperate, just like Zhang Yifan who had the courage to beat the drum and went to the prison to give Zhu Yuanzhang food.

This kid is really good!

While she was thinking about it, she heard Zhang Yifan say: "The common people think that if an official eats the emperor's salary, he should worry about the emperor; Your Majesty is worried about corrupt officials, so the officials should wake up and correct their mistakes. Otherwise, encourage them. As for the matter of empty seals, no matter what, we should try our best to avoid such things. If there are difficulties on the long journey, we should find a way to solve the difficulties, instead of just doing what Qian Yuan did... "

Hearing his words, Li Shanchang was stunned at first.

How could a country boy say such a thing?He even quoted Liu Zongyuan and Han Yuzhi to flatter the emperor. This is far better than his own son's simple words!
Hu Weiyong's face also darkened. He had actually thought about how slippery this country boy was, but he didn't expect that he would be so slippery and know how not to provoke the emperor or flatter him!
If this kid were to be an official, especially a censor, many people would be unlucky!

Song Lian looked at Zhang Yifan and then at his student lying on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh.Mei Yin is too stubborn, unlike them who can adapt to the wind and steer the ship!
As for Mei Yin, even though she was lying there, she despised Zhang Yifan in her heart: treacherous villain!

However, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was the person involved, seemed dissatisfied with Zhang Yifan's answer. He interrupted Zhang Yifan with a gloomy face, and said in a cold voice, "I'm asking you about my punishment. What do you think?"

At this point, he paused and seemed to be warning Zhang Yifan: "Don't be naughty and think about him!"

When Li Qi heard this, he felt relieved.It can be seen from the emperor's words and deeds that he was not satisfied with Zhang Yifan's answer!

Good thing!
After hearing this, Zhang Yifan seemed not to have heard the warning, and still said calmly: "The common people think that thunder, rain, and dew are all the grace of the emperor! Your Majesty gives them glory and wealth, and they must be grateful; your Majesty punishes them, and they will suffer the same... "

When Zhu Yuanzhang heard the beginning of his words, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Obviously, he is very interested in the phrase "thunder, rain and dew are all your kindness"!

Subconsciously, he no longer concealed his expression, and turned from expressionless to showing a hint of appreciation!
That's right, although Zhang Yifan's previous words were interrupted by him, they actually benefited him.

In the final analysis, the empty seal case was Zhu Yuanzhang's declaration of imperial power.Let local officials know that there is an emperor above the prime minister.

As for Zhang Yifan, from the very beginning he was speaking from the perspective that the emperor is the boss and the emperor is everything. This is what truly flattered Zhu Yuanzhang.

For Zhu Yuanzhang, of course he wished that all officials in the world would do what Zhang Yifan said and think about and do things from his perspective!

And "Thunder, rain, and dew are all your kindness" was originally written in blood by Yang Lian during the Tianqi period.This is the result of the Ming Dynasty's emphasis on imperial power for more than 200 years. The famous saying refined by the great scholar Yang Lian was passed down to later generations and happened to be used by Zhang Yifan. Naturally, it scratched Zhu Yuanzhang's itch and stopped pretending.

Prince Zhu Biao also nodded after hearing this. He did not expect Zhang Yifan to say such penetrating words. He was already sure in his heart that his father said that the "Disciple Regulations" was verified to be written by Zhang Yifan. It should not be wrong!Judging from the current situation, it seems that Zhang Yifan is more likely to become a brother-in-law!

While he was being happy, he heard Zhang Yifan change the subject: "The common people think that your Majesty is wise and powerful, and what the empty seal case is like, your Majesty must know it and no one else needs to explain it. Now it is time to test the common people against us." How do people distinguish the corrupt officials among them. Who deserves the thunder, and who can enjoy the rain and dew?"

Hearing his words, everyone inside and outside the pavilion was stunned.

Even Zhu Yuanzhang himself was stunned for a moment, because he didn't mean it at all!

However, Zhang Yifan laid the groundwork from the front, and it was only natural for him to express his guess at this time.For a moment, even Li Shanchang was a little suspicious. Could it be that the emperor really meant this?
Mei Yin, who was lying there, raised his head for the first time and looked at Zhang Yifan with a different look on his face. He completely forgot that he had just called Zhang Yifan a treacherous villain in his heart: Is this what your Majesty meant?
For Zhu Yuanzhang, the real purpose of causing the empty seal case was to emphasize the monarch's power.

Originally, the main reason why he suddenly asked about the empty seal case during the palace test to select a son-in-law was because Li Shanchang actually thought of ways to influence him.In this case, isn't it an examination question for governing the country? So he raised this difficult question to see how Li Shanchang's son would deal with it?

Unexpectedly, there was a surprise for this Liujiacun boy.

After Zhang Yifan's answer spread, it was enough to emphasize the existence and importance of monarchy to all officials: if you eat the emperor's salary, you should bear the emperor's worries, not the prime minister's worries; thunder, rain and dew are all the emperor's favor, even more It's straightforward.

Therefore, although Zhu Yuanzhang didn't mean what Zhang Yifan said before, he didn't mind at this time, so he followed Zhang Yifan's topic and asked: "Then how do you think we can distinguish it?"

Fortunately, he met Zheng Shili at the inn yesterday, so Zhang Yifan was thinking about the blank seal case when he was sleeping.If possible, if he could save some good officials, he wouldn't mind saving them.Unexpectedly, some of the countermeasures he thought about were actually used.

Therefore, after hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, he knew that he might be able to change history, so he quickly responded: "Your Majesty can ask them to write down what they have done as officials for the country and the people, and then your Majesty will directly send people If you are really a good official, give them rain and dew to show your kindness; otherwise, they should also bear the wrath of your majesty's thunder!"

In these words, he emphasized another thing, that is, Zhu Yuanzhang sent people directly, not by the imperial court.In the middle, the difference is actually quite big.

If the imperial court sends someone, and the prime minister is below one person and above ten thousand people, it is equivalent to sending someone from Hu Weiyong's side. Whoever can pardon and who cannot pardon will be thanked by Hu Weiyong instead of Zhu Yuanzhang.

Fundamentally speaking, the empty printing case is not a matter of corruption, but a matter of who is the boss!
In short, Zhang Yifan clung to this central idea and talked about it!

After he finished speaking, everyone turned to look at Zhu Yuanzhang to see how he made his decision.

However, Queen Ma, who was sitting side by side with Zhu Yuanzhang, did not look at Zhu Yuanzhang, but looked at Zhang Yifan, with a smile on her face.

She naturally saw that Zhang Yifan was trying to save those good officials in a tactful way!

After all, because of the matter of Kongyin, it must be a mistake to kill everyone directly.Zhu Yuanzhang may not care, but Empress Ma is kind-hearted and cares more.

Now, Zhang Yifan's rescue method, based on her understanding of her husband, she feels satisfied.

At this time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak immediately. He just glanced at the people outside the pavilion. Finally, he looked at Zhang Yifan and returned to his expressionless expression: "Let's leave it like this for the first assessment. Don't lie down. Get up." Get ready to answer my second question!"

Upon hearing this, Song Lian suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.Regardless of whether the emperor agreed to Zhang Yifan's proposal, in short, it would have been better if Mei Yin was not pursued.

With this thought in his mind, he couldn't help but look at Zhang Yifan gratefully.He knew very well that if it weren't for Zhang Yifan's response, Mei Yin might not have been let off so easily!
Of course, Li Shanchang, Hu Weiyong and the others must be unhappy.However, they only came to listen and witness the emergence of the great prince-in-law. They had no right to speak and could only watch.

What is more gratifying is that the emperor did not praise Zhang Yifan. In other words, the response to the first test question seemed to have no results.

Zhu Biao and Zhu Di looked at each other and saw a little surprise and joy in each other's eyes.The meaning is very clear, Zhang Yifan's performance exceeded their expectations, and the eldest sister might get what she wanted!

After Mei Yin stood up and the ten people were ready again, everyone looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and wanted to know what kind of question would be asked next?

Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at them and turned to look at Li Shanchang. Then he turned back and looked at the ten people standing side by side outside the pavilion and started talking.

(End of this chapter)