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Chapter 78 Donglin Academy
"The sound of the wind and rain, the sound of reading, the sound of reading, family affairs, state affairs, world affairs, and everything concerned."

Many people in later generations have heard of this couplet, but they may not know its origin.This couplet was made by Gu Xiancheng in the Ming Dynasty and hung in an academy on the east bank of Taihu Lake.

This academy has a relatively long history. It was founded in 1111 AD, the first year of Zhenghe in the Northern Song Dynasty. It was the place where Yang Shi, the direct disciple of Er Cheng, gave lectures.After hundreds of years of war, it had been abandoned, but after a Wuxi official was dismissed and returned to his hometown, it shined brighter again.

Speaking of Donglin Academy and Gu Xiancheng, it is impossible to avoid it if you have a little understanding of the history of the Ming Dynasty.It and he basically represent the thoughts and political struggles of intellectuals in the late Ming Dynasty. They are not only the last hope of traditional Chinese intellectuals, but also one of the culprits who buried the Ming Empire.

At this time, Gu Xiancheng was standing in front of the main hall of the academy, facing the slender rain, and reciting this couplet written by himself in a low voice. His thin face and three strands of long beard were all wet by the raindrops, but he was still unaware, as if he had become a statue.

"Third brother, why are you standing in the rain?" A man hurriedly walked outside the door. He had a similar figure and appearance, but his skin tone was slightly darker.Seeing Gu Xiancheng standing alone in the rain in a daze, he quickly picked up the oil umbrella from the corridor, opened it, and asked slightly reproachfully.

"Ji Shi, what kind of person do you think the current Holy Emperor is? Is it consistent with the rumors in the court?" The sky was blocked by the dark oil umbrella, Gu Xiancheng was a little uninterested, as if getting wet in the rain was a kind of enjoyment.However, he couldn't blame him because he was his brother. He sighed softly, gathered his mood, and walked slowly into the corridor.

"It should be the same. When I was in Beijing, he was still the eldest son of the emperor. It was rare to see him in the deep palace for a long time. I heard from colleagues in the Imperial College and the Ministry of Rites that he was very taciturn, even a little dull.

After he ascended the throne last year, friends in Beijing and China also received many letters, but they still do not have a high opinion of the current emperor.After all, he started school too late and had no famous teachers to guide him. It would be good to be a conservative emperor, but he wants to change rashly... I find it difficult! "

The man called Ji Shi was Gu Xiancheng's fourth brother Gu Yuncheng, who was a Jinshi in the 14th year of Wanli.Like his elder brother Gu Xiancheng, he is full of knowledge and dares to think and speak. That is why he offended the top officials like his elder brother and was unable to gain a foothold in the government, so he simply returned to his hometown to run an academy and give lectures.

But lecturing is lecturing, and the ambition in my heart has not been abandoned.Thinking about family and national affairs and caring about everything in the world, it is obviously impossible for the two brothers alone to do it. Fortunately, they have gained something in inheriting and carrying forward Wang Shouren's spiritual philosophy. In the past few years, they have gathered a large number of insightful people with common ambitions and ideas.In addition to paying attention to the trends in the DPRK all the time, he can also influence the political structure of the court through indirect means, and even promote and remove some positions.

Emperor Wanli passed away last year and a new emperor ascended the throne. It was a good opportunity for the fledgling Donglin Academy to expand its power. Taking advantage of the opportunity to fill the vacancies of officials in various departments, a large number of Donglin officials successfully entered the imperial court. The biggest gain was Shen Li retained his bachelor's position, and also added Ye Xianggao.

Although the latter is not a core member of Donglin Academy and has more moderate political views, he partially agrees with the academy's ideas and often maintains correspondence with the academy.With his joining, the officials of the Donglin clique can compete head-on with the Zhejiang clique in the cabinet, which is a great help.

Seeing that the triennial external inspection was coming, I originally planned to take this opportunity to arrange for more Donglin officials to be added to the local area. Unexpectedly, the new emperor suddenly proposed the idea of ​​reducing the vassal.

When they first heard about this, no one took it seriously.Cutting down vassals is easier said than done. Count them one by one. Which of the previous emperors did not have a deeper foundation than the current one? As a result, no one dared to do it or could not do it.Forget about shouting, he probably won't be able to convince even the cabinet and will die on the way.Donglin Academy also didn't take it seriously, and didn't want the topic of reducing the vassalage to affect the external inspection plan. It was just to deal with the Zhejiang Party that they sent a censor to come forward, intending to suppress the young emperor's spirit at the court meeting. Let the Zhejiang Party be uniquely beautiful.

The result was still very unexpected. Everyone felt that the dull and taciturn emperor suddenly seemed like a new person. Not only did he speak sharply and think clearly, he also knew how to use the power in his hands to intimidate.

Without saying a few words at the beginning, Qin Tianjian was handed over to Dongchang for investigation, and the reason was so irrefutable.Immediately afterwards, the person who came forward on behalf of the Zhejiang Party was so embarrassed that he did not dare to speak anymore. At the same time, the censor representing the Donglin Party did not take any advantage, and they were all disgraced.

Hearing this situation, the six core people in the academy had to get together and conduct a more careful deduction based on the contents of the letters from officials in the capital. The final conclusion was that the emperor's performance was not a true manifestation and that someone was behind it. Encourage, guide and even control.

This inference is very consistent with common logic. It is unreasonable for a prince, no matter how smart, to stir up trouble in the court after only two years of listening to scriptures and banquets without receiving orthodox education for more than ten years.

Even if you are truly a genius in governing the world, you still need someone to help you.What's more, this emperor has never shown any talent since he was a child. On the contrary, he has made great achievements in cowardice and stupidity.

In this case, the target that should be targeted is not the emperor, but some people hiding behind the emperor.If we don’t dig them out, similar situations will occur in the future. If the Zhejiang Party is allowed to take the opportunity to grow bigger, all the forbearance and efforts made over the years will be in vain.

But who is the person hiding behind the emperor?Even though Donglin Academy is thousands of miles away from the capital, its control over the court has not relaxed at all. Any disturbance will be reported in detail within ten days. In case of special circumstances, a letter will be delivered within three or four days. It's a bit like the opposition organization department.

After more than two days of careful deliberation, Gu Xiancheng and the other five founders of Donglin Academy have generally come to the conclusion that the two people are the most suspected, the Chief of Ceremonies Bingbi Chen Ju and the Cabinet Scholar Li Zhi!

Chen Ju was a close aide of the late emperor. Now that the new emperor has succeeded, he must do something if he wants to keep his position and status.Li Zhi is one of Donglin Academy's long-term enemies, and to some extent is more dangerous than the Zhejiang Party.

Donglin Academy, including the ideological system advocated by Gu Xianchen himself called Xinxue, was founded by Wang Yangming, a thinker in the Ming Dynasty.Li Zhi's Taizhou School also came from the Xinxue system. Traditionally speaking, Gu Xiancheng and Li Zhi should be considered the same school. How to rank them is another matter.

As the saying goes, people who work in the same profession are enemies, and it is not uncommon for people in the same discipline to fight with each other.This principle applies not only to ancient China, but also to the whole world.For example, Christianity and the Orthodox Church came from the same school, and ended up becoming rivals.Another example is that various sects in the Middle East, including Judaism, are actually brothers and sisters of the same sect, and eventually become the same.

(End of this chapter)