The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 389: The Second Ming Dynasty Ministers Appear

"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers... The imperial court wants to expand the Jinyiwei..."

"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers... The imperial court recruited 5,000 great scholars to come to the capital to edit books..."

"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers... Mr. Xizhi will post something again..."

"Selling newspapers, selling newspapers... Chen Bandu published another article, reinterpreting 'When one has enough food and clothing, one knows honor and disgrace; when one has enough granaries, one knows etiquette' and puts forward a new theory..."

A new issue of Ming Weekly has been published, and newsboys have become active again, and their figures can be seen everywhere in the streets and alleys.

They also learned how to spread the word.

We specifically select the most explosive news and loudly promote them to attract more customers to buy.

In the previous Internet era, they would all be qualified clickbait titles.

This trick is really useful. Many people who originally had no intention of buying the newspaper will become eager to read it when they hear content that interests them.

Those who have money in their pockets will come for one.

For example, at this moment, Yang Shiqi was attracted by the news about summoning great scholars to Beijing and Chen Jingke's new theory, and he stopped the newsboy and bought a newspaper.

Then he randomly found a street stall, ordered a meal, and without touching his chopsticks, he picked up a newspaper and started reading.

The stall owner didn't find it strange at all. This kind of thing happened frequently and he was used to it.

Sometimes, if he meets someone with a good temper, he will come up and ask about the above contents, and then use them as capital for bragging.

He is not bragging for nothing, but using this to attract customers to eat.

Many returning customers come here just for this reason.

At this time, he quietly looked at Yang Shiqi to see if he could find an opportunity to ask him a few questions.

However, the other party looked so cold and serious that he did not dare to speak.

Yang Shiqi didn't know what the stall owner was planning, and even if he did, he wouldn't bother to care.

He opened the newspaper skillfully, and as expected, the front-page headline was an article by the retired emperor. From the title, one could tell that the content was about the administration of officials.

He just glanced at it and passed it by.

Nowadays, the front page of newspapers is tacitly devoted to the royal family. The articles written by the retired emperor are mostly about administration, while those written by the emperor are basically about reform.

The prince's articles are varied, covering all kinds of topics.

If you don’t know him, you would think he is knowledgeable.

Only a few people know that this guy thinks whatever he wants and writes whatever he thinks of.

However, it is not wrong to say that he is knowledgeable. Being able to turn what he thinks in his mind into qualified articles cannot be done without some talent.

There will be more policy changes and interpretations later. For example, the focus of this issue is on the expansion of the Jinyiwei.

Yang Shiqi continued to glance over it until he saw the policy on book revision on the second page, then stopped.

After reading it carefully, I found that the rumor was actually true.

A few days ago, news came out that the imperial court was going to recruit 5,000 great scholars to compile a book.

It's just that most people have doubts.

It's not that I doubt the revision of books. In prosperous times, revising books is a process.

The Ming Dynasty has been established for twenty-five years. Although it is still some distance away from its heyday, it is not far off.

The court's decision to revise the book was reasonable.

What everyone doubts is the scale.

Five thousand great scholars, what does this mean?
Almost all the famous scholars in the area were caught in one fell swoop.

is it possible?
Yang Shiqi was also concerned about this matter, after all, it concerned his own career.

He was born into a poor family and lost his father at a young age. He studied everywhere and finally achieved success.

However, due to the lack of systematic teaching from famous teachers, research on classics is relatively weak.

However, he also has his own advantages, that is, his broad knowledge.

It’s not that I am knowledgeable but not deep, but I have learned a lot.

Although I am not as good as those who specialize in these subjects, it is good enough.

Especially in history, he has done a lot of research.

After all, history is not about profound meanings. The facts are there and anyone who can read can see them.

Over the years he has traveled extensively, making a living by teaching students, and has gained some fame.

But he was not satisfied with this, he wanted to be an official.

There is nothing wrong with having such an idea. How many scholars don't want to be an official?

However, his knowledge, which was "enough" for daily life, seemed insufficient in the imperial examinations.

Unless he can calm down and study hard to make up for his shortcomings.

However, he is nearly 30 years old and is not willing to take this path.

It's very simple. When he is in his forties or fifties and has achieved academic success, what good will it matter even if he passes the exam?

Moreover, he had a high opinion of himself and always believed that being an official did not require such profound knowledge, and that it was enough to have enough knowledge.

Instead of focusing on academic studies, it is better to study how to govern the country.

As for becoming an official, he decided to go the route of recommendation.

But this path is no easier than the imperial examination. Who would recommend a stranger for no reason?

He could only try his best to make friends with the powerful and influential, but to no avail.

The launch of the Ming Weekly gave him new hope.

However, he was very clear that his article was not particularly outstanding, and if he wanted it to be accepted, he had to come up with something surprising.

If you want to make a splash, you can't take the conventional route.

At the beginning, he chose to agree with Chen Jingke's world of great harmony. If he could catch the eye of Chen Bandu, he would have taken a shortcut to Zhongnan.

However, several of the articles I submitted were ignored.

At first he was not convinced and admitted that he was not as good as others in academics, but he believed that he still had his own unique ideas in governing the country.

It was only after he read the articles that were accepted that he realized he was too arrogant.

Whether you agree or disagree, everything you say has substance.

Especially, their understanding of politics far exceeds his.

There are many angles to look at things from that he has never thought of before.

This reality hit him hard.

However, he did not lose heart and decided to choose another track.

This time he targeted materialism.

What is his greatest characteristic?
He has a wide range of knowledge and is quite proficient in history.

Although materialism was difficult for others to understand, he was able to get the hang of it very quickly.

He admired Fang Xiaoru's talent from the bottom of his heart.

Then...he chose to submit an article criticizing materialism.

It's very simple. Although he has some understanding of materialism, he only understands a little because he has not been exposed to the whole picture.

There is no point in writing an article to flatter others.

It is better to focus on the points you do understand and criticize harshly, and maybe you will be hired.

Sure enough, his article was successfully published in the Ming Weekly.

This stepping stone really worked. From then on, no matter where he went, as long as he said that his articles had been accepted by a weekly newspaper, he would always be looked up to.

He was not satisfied with this, but prepared to make further efforts and use materialism to make a name for himself.

If you want to criticize something, you must first understand it.

In order to better understand materialism, he decided to come to Luoyang, where he could access first-hand information.

After a long journey, we finally arrived the day before yesterday.

Before he could settle down, he heard rumors that the court was going to revise the book.

He was immediately attracted.

Revise a book?

It's absolutely perfect for me.

So he began to inquire about relevant information.

It’s a pity that as an outsider, the information he could get was very limited.

Besides, if you want to be chosen to edit a book, you have to be famous, so in the end it all comes down to reputation.

So after settling down, he went out to buy books on materialism. Halfway through his journey, he heard about the latest issue of a newspaper, so he immediately bought a copy to read.

After reading the newspaper carefully, a look of joy appeared on his face.

The rumors were true, the imperial court really was going to recruit 5,000 people to revise the book.

The only slight discrepancy is that these five thousand people are not all great scholars, but also top practitioners from various industries.

For Yang Shiqi, this news was enough.

Then he turned to Chen Jingke's article.

Everyone knows that the real helmsman of the Ming Dynasty is Chen Jingke, and if you want to become an official, you must please him.

Studying his every word and action has become a must for scholars nowadays.

Yang Shiqi was naturally also studying it.

He has never been a pedantic person or a moral gentleman.

Know what you want to do and how to achieve your goal.

You can become famous by criticizing materialism, but you must never go against Chen Jingke.

If you want to achieve something in officialdom, you must learn to cooperate with others.

So, he has been collecting Chen Jingke's policies, articles, etc.

It’s a pity that Chen Jingke doesn’t like to express his opinions publicly, and few related articles have been leaked.

At first everyone thought he was not good at this.

After all, human energy is limited. Even if one is an expert in medicine and knowledgeable in politics, he or she cannot be highly knowledgeable as well, right?
Until the publication of 'Great Harmony World'.

Regardless of whether this ideal world can be realized, judging from the article itself, his literary skills are quite profound.

He has conducted in-depth research on all schools of thought.

Several subsequent articles further confirmed this point.

Moreover, this Chen Bandu has a unique understanding of classics and can often analyze the words of ancient sages from unexpected angles.

Of course, a novel angle means controversy.

Several articles by Chen Jingke also caused considerable discussion.

Fortunately, his views are relatively moderate and are mostly put forward in an exploratory tone.

They also hold a positive attitude towards the knowledge of the ancient sages.

It does not, like materialism, directly point to the lifeblood of rationalism.

Therefore, everyone's attitude is relatively restrained.

Even if you disagree with his views, he still speaks based on facts and reason, without much aggression.

Of course, a big reason why no one attacked him was that materialism attracted the attention.

Yang Shiqi read the article and found that its content was from "when the granaries are full, people will know etiquette", and proposed a theory called human needs.

It also borrowed some of Zhu Xi's ideas of preserving the principles of heaven and eliminating human desires.

The so-called natural law is to have enough food and clothing, to marry and to have children.

The so-called human desires are wearing gold and silver, having three wives and four concubines, and enslaving others.

The article openly admits that it borrowed some ideas from "preserving the principles of heaven".

This demand theory amazed Yang Shiqi.

No wonder their political system is so good. This understanding alone exceeds that of most people.

The second half of the article shifts the topic to the world of great harmony.

It is believed that one cannot become fat in one bite, and it is impossible for human beings to enter a world of great harmony in one step.

It should be divided into different stages and implemented step by step.

The standard for dividing stages is the theory of human needs.

Seeing this, Yang Shiqi fell into deep thought, and after a long time, admiration appeared on his face.

"The world of great harmony has been achieved."

The idea of ​​a harmonious world was not recognized in the past because it was impossible to achieve.

But this phased approach solved all the problems.

Moreover, the emergence of stage divisions also makes the world of great harmony ideologically smooth and self-consistent.

"As expected of Chen Bantu."

But then he added, "I'm afraid the literary world is going to be busy again."

He had no appetite for food at the moment. He closed the newspaper, threw a few coins on the table, and turned away.

The stall owner felt a little regretful. The scholar's expression was too scary and it was obvious that he was not someone who was easy to talk to. He did not dare to go up to him to inquire for information.

However, when he saw the bowl of untouched food on the table, a smile appeared on his face again.

It's not bad to make two big bucks for free.

Yang Shiqi found a bookstore and before he even entered, he saw several Confucian scholars holding a newspaper and discussing something with each other.

"The Jinyiwei has doubled its strength, and life will be even more difficult for officials in the future."

"Yes, this suggestion was actually made by Chen Bandu. It really surprised me..."

"I think it's normal for him to bring this up. He advocates reform and uses the Imperial Guards to attack..."

"Hush, can you say this publicly? Do you want to kill everyone?"

Several Confucian scholars were startled and hurried to stop him.

Then he looked around, as if he was afraid that a Jinyiwei would suddenly appear and lock them away.

The Confucian scholar also reacted and his expression looked a little unnatural.

However, young people are very proud, so he still said stubbornly:

"What are you afraid of? Can he shut up everyone in the world?"

Under normal circumstances, Yang Shiqi would definitely not bother to pay attention to these arguments.

But he had just read Chen Jingke's article and was still immersed in the feeling of admiration.

When he heard someone criticizing Chen Jingke, he couldn't help but stop and ask back:
"If you don't do anything wrong, you don't have to worry about ghosts knocking on your door at night."

"If you are honest and upright and enforce the law impartially, why should you be afraid of the Royal Guards?"

The young man didn't expect to be confronted, and his face immediately turned red.

Several of his companions were also unhappy and stepped forward to criticize him.

"The Jinyiwei have committed many evil deeds. How many people have been killed by them..."

"You actually speak for them. Are you still a scholar?"

One of them was very careful. Seeing that Yang Shiqi had an extraordinary bearing, he was a little worried about his extraordinary background, so he asked:
"If you have the guts, leave your name. I'll call on everyone to criticize you..."

Yang Shiqi laughed disdainfully and said, "I will not change my name or surname. I am Yang Shiqi of Yichun."

Yang Shiqi? I've never heard of him. He doesn't seem to be a famous person.

He immediately felt relieved and prepared to teach the other party a lesson.

The bookstore owner who was watching the excitement from the side was stunned when he heard the name, and hurried to the place where the newspapers were stored to look for it.

He quickly found the target, picked it up and took a look at it with an expression that said, "As expected."

So he walked over and said politely, "It turns out to be Mr. Dongli. I have heard of your great name for a long time."

The expressions of those Confucian scholars could not help but change.

Although I don't know who Mr. Dongli is, he is obviously famous since he is called by his name.

Could it be that I really hit a wall?

Yang Shiqi was also very surprised. He didn't expect that someone here actually knew him, but he said calmly:

"I don't dare to take the title of sir. I am Yang Dongli. I wonder how the shopkeeper knew my name?"

When the shopkeeper heard that it was indeed him, he became even more polite and said:
"Sir, you are too modest. I have read your articles in the weekly newspaper countless times..."

"I never thought I would meet you today. I am so lucky."

Yang Shiqi thought to himself that it was indeed the case, and at the same time he once again confirmed that the path he had chosen was correct.

When they heard that he could actually publish an article in a weekly newspaper, the faces of several Confucian scholars changed drastically.

He didn't dare to say anything else and quietly slipped away while the two were chatting.

Yang Shiqi naturally saw their little actions, but he was too lazy to pay attention to them.

I was completely clueless about the capital, so I took this opportunity to find the bookstore owner to find out some information.

(End of this chapter)