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Chapter 28
A miracle happened two days later. The emperor actually approved the prince's memorial, ordered the Siyi Pavilion to go around, and asked the Western monks Matteo Ricci, Pang Di'er, and Guo Jujing to assist in translating the Analects into European language.

A prince who can't even read the Four Books and Five Classics fluently, and three Western monks who can't speak Chinese well, insist on translating a classic of Chinese culture, no one will approve it.But Emperor Wanli added another person to this combination, and then no one said a word in the court, and everyone fell into a strange calm.

Who has so much energy that the court, which is full of parties, suddenly loses its voice? This person is called Li Zhi, whose courtesy name is Hongfu and his nickname is Zhuowu.His academic qualifications are not high. He was elected in the 31st year of Jiajing, and his position is not high. He has been in the officialdom for more than 20 years and has only served as the prefect of Yao'an.

However, he is quite famous and can be regarded as the main advocate of the Taizhou academic school in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.He often took his apprentices around to give lectures, and he also became a monk and had many followers.

Hong Tao did read his works in later generations, but he was not deeply impressed. This time, he had no intention of getting him to the Siyi Pavilion to translate the Analects. He did not even know that this great master lived in the Wanli Dynasty.

I originally wanted to entrust Chen Jujin with the telescope and present it to the emperor, but I took advantage of my happiness to allow myself to go to the Seyi Pavilion and work with Matteo Ricci and others to translate the Analects of Confucius into the Western language, thereby resolving the dilemma of missionaries being unable to gain a foothold in the capital.

The reason was well thought out. Using the emperor's name to spread the saint's teachings was a well-targeted move.Emperor Wanli had a rather out-of-the-box personality. If his name could be spread to the far western countries through books, and it didn't require a lot of effort or spending too much money, he would most likely not refuse.

However, after hearing this request, Chen Ju said that it was unlikely that the emperor would agree, because the Analects of Confucius has many interpretations, and the understanding ability is not up to a certain level, so it is difficult to translate the connotation accurately.

In other words, the prince and the three Western monks cannot translate this book.If you want to solve this problem, you must find a scholar with sufficient literary knowledge and a certain reputation to help.

Hong Tao definitely had no place to find such people. Among the people he knew and could talk to, only Shen Yiguan, Shen Li and Ye Xianggao were barely qualified. However, they were all important officials of the imperial court and did not speak the Xifan language. How could this be possible? Being willing to do something under the leadership of a good-for-nothing prince like himself, which brings little benefit but is easily exploited by others, is obviously not worth the gain.

So Chen Ju recommended Li Zhi, saying that he would definitely be qualified.Hong Tao didn't think much about it at the time. He had read Li Zhi's books and felt that his reputation should be enough, so he happily added this name to the emperor's memorial.

As a result, as soon as Chen Ju left, Hong Tao only briefly talked about the matter with Wang An, and he immediately regretted it and scolded all eight generations of Chen Ju's ancestors in his heart.Then I spent a day and night in uneasiness, and until the imperial edict came down, I still couldn't let my heart fall into my stomach.

According to Wang An's introduction, Li Zhi must be knowledgeable and famous, but he was being held in Jinyiwei Prison at this time and was arrested by the emperor's order.

Wang An was not particularly clear as to why he was arrested. He only knew that it was a Zhejiang Party official who complained to Emperor Shangshu.Based on this, it is speculated that Li Zhi may have offended the Zhejiang Party, or simply Shen Yiguan, the chief minister.

"Why did Eunuch Chen want to harm me!" No matter who Li Zhi had offended, since he had been arrested by the emperor's order, there might have been some entanglements in the process, and he was not allowed to get involved casually.

Now I can't hide even if I want to. The reason must be that Chen Ju deliberately framed him.If it was a trap set by Concubine Zheng, she would have no choice but to surrender and continue to be a coward. At least she would have to force both Chen Ju and Tian Yi away before they could try again.

"... Qiansui Master calm down, how dare I do harm to this old slave. Although Li Zhi has no rank, he has followers all over the north and south. If he can help him at this time and make friends with him, he will definitely be of great help in the future!" Seeing that the prince was anxious, Chen Ju He didn't look around, but looked around first, then nudged Wang An to stand further away, and then explained his good intentions in a low voice.

"I'm afraid that if I don't wait until the future, I will be swallowed by the whirlpool in the middle of the court!" The logic is reasonable, similar to how I helped Matteo Ricci and the others.The reason is barely enough. Since Li Zhi is so famous, he must have many followers, which he can really use when he ascends the throne one day.

But everything has a priority. We cannot ignore the present for the sake of the future, let alone offend the chief minister of the cabinet and the entire Zhejiang Party for the sake of a possible team in the future.

"Thousand-year-old Master is overly worried. Li Zhi is just disliked by some officials in the court. Long-lived Master was deceived before issuing the order. After the trial in Dongchang found no evidence, he no longer intends to deal with it. He will be sent out of the capital just after the limelight has passed. .

The memorial from Lord Chitose was delivered at the right time. It not only gave Lord Banzai a way to deal with it, but also gave some people in the court a warning. Don't think that Lord Banzai is easy to deceive, let alone deceive the Secretary of Ceremony and the Supervisor of Ceremonies! "

Chen Ju also had an explanation for the prince's concerns. According to him, Emperor Wanli was deceived by officials and only realized something was wrong afterward.But the person has been arrested, and it cannot be said that the arrest was wrong. He can only be imprisoned in prison first, hoping to find an excuse to let him go after the limelight has passed.

At this time, the prince suddenly said that he wanted to translate the Analects of Confucius and publish it in the name of the emperor and spread it all over the world. However, he lacked someone who was familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics to check it. Someone handed him a pillow just as he was about to fall asleep.

If Li Zhi is asked to interpret the Analects, no one will dare to say that his level is not good enough. At the same time, it can also remind certain officials that I have understood your insidious intentions and it is best to be careful in the future.Not only did I not deal with it, I also let Li Zhi hang around in front of you all day long, making you sick to death.

"Why does Eunuch Chen protect Li Zhi so much?" This explanation is in line with Emperor Wanli's behavior. It can be seen from the fact that he never went to court that the emperor is the kind of person who doesn't make me feel comfortable, and I won't make him uncomfortable either. Comfortable character.

And once this kind of temper is aroused, he will be a little bit careless, and he will have fun first before talking.Even though he knew he couldn't completely fall out with the courtiers, he still found ways to make them uncomfortable.

But there is another question that Hong Tao must figure out, and that is what role Chen Ju played in this matter.No matter how good-hearted he is, he will not help a useless person for no reason.

Helping the emperor to vent his anger was not enough to make him so devoted, and trying to please himself was even more nonsense.He is already 63 this year, and the emperor is only 30. He is in the prime of life and has no major physical problems.When the prince succeeds to the throne, he will be unable to get up even if he does not die.

"This person is by no means a person who confuses the public with evil words and brings harm to the country and the people. He is beneficial to our Ming Dynasty!" Chen Ju answered this question very uprightly and without any personal feelings.

"I make my own decision!" It was hard for Hong Tao to imagine that these words came from the mouth of a powerful eunuch. In most literary, film and television works of later generations, eunuchs, especially the eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty, basically use clever words and tricks. , a perverted and sycophantic villain who flatters his master, steals the power of the country, tortures the people, and frames loyal people.

The reputation of Chen Ju and Tian Yi in the palace is quite good, but it is too early to draw a conclusion whether they are physically disabled and strong-willed, or whether they are treacherous and loyal. Let’s write this down for now and wait and see later!
(End of this chapter)