Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

Liu Zongzhou set out for Beijing last year.

In November last year, after Zhu Youjian overthrew the Eunuch Party and defeated Wei Zhongxian, he began to revive the Donglin Party.

Among the first batch of people to recover was Liu Zongzhou. Let him serve as the censor of Qiandu, responsible for the establishment of the General Investigation Department, and participate in the investigation of the eunuch party.

When Liu Zongzhou received the news, it was already December of the seventh year of Tianqi. At that time, he was still giving lectures in Jishan, Shanyin County. After arranging disciples, he brought his friend Huang Zunsu's son and disciple Huang Zongxi to Beijing. I want to avenge my friend and give Huang Zunsu a posthumous name.

On the way, they met Zhou Maolan, the son of Zhou Shunchang, who was traveling from Suzhou and brought a blood letter to avenge his father.

As descendants of the Seven Gentlemen, Huang Zongxi and Zhou Maolan naturally hit it off. Liu Zongzhou took him and continued towards the capital.

Because of his fame, people kept visiting him along the way. Then he learned about Huang and Zhou people, and admired Liu Zongzhou even more.

When they arrived in Beizhili, three more righteous men, Sun Qifeng, Lu Zheng, and Zhang Guozhong, protected Zuo Guangdou's younger brother Zuo Guangming and joined them.

Because of this, Liu Zongyi's group became more and more popular on Monday, and many people whose relatives had been killed by the eunuchs gathered around him.

I hope this censor appointed by the emperor can do justice.

With so many people gathered together, they still wanted to go to Beijing to overturn the case. It was impossible for Jin Yiwei not to pay attention and report the news.

Zhu Youjian learned that Liu Zongzhou had attracted so many people just because of his status as the censor of Qiandu. He immediately realized that although he valued Liu Zongzhou, he had underestimated his influence:
"The Qi of thousands of years is perfect in one generation. The world is called the Qilin and the Phoenix, and the scholars are Mount Tai and Beidou."

"Liu Zongzhou is like Mount Tai and Beidou in this era, a living sage!"

Being called a "perfect person" while alive will also be evaluated in the same way after death. Liu Zongzhou's reputation in the Ming Dynasty is far beyond the reach of others.

This person lost his father when he was young and lived with his mother in his grandfather Zhang Ying's family.

Although Zhang Ying's reputation is not very prominent, she has never been admitted to Jinshi in her life. But he can be called a famous Confucian in the eastern Zhejiang area, and he is also a good teacher.

He had more than a thousand disciples, many of whom were admitted to the imperial examinations and became officials, and some became famous among scholars. To Liu Zongzhou, these people were all his connections.

Moreover, under Zhang Ying's guidance, Liu Zongzhou laid a solid foundation in Confucianism and was admitted to the Jinshi examination at the age of only twenty-four. When his mother Ding You lost his mother, he became his disciple Xu Fuyuan.

Xu Fuyuan's reputation is much greater than Zhang Ying's. He studied under Zhan Ruoshui's lineage and was a disciple of Tang Shu.

Zhan Ruoshui and Wang Yangming are as famous as each other, and the world calls them both, and the study of mind is called Wang Zhan's study. The Ganquan School founded by Zhan Ruoshui is a major school of Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty.

Moreover, Zhan Ruoshui was a disciple of Chen Xianzhang, and Mr. Baisha Chen Xianzhang was a great Confucian who worshiped in the Confucius Temple. He and Wang Yangming's teacher Lou Liang were both disciples of Wu Yubi. Wu Yubi ranked first in the "Confucian Studies of the Ming Dynasty", and together with Xue Xuan, he was known as the two major Confucian scholars in the north and the south. The Confucian orthodoxy of the Ming Dynasty was inherited by these two people.

Therefore, Xu Fuyuan's lineage is the orthodox descendant of Confucianism and the cultural lineage certified by the Confucius Temple.

Xu Fuyuan was quite accomplished in Confucianism and served as Minister of War in the officialdom. His disciples Feng Congwu and Ding Yuanjian were both backbones of the Donglin Party and had close contacts with Gu Xiancheng. Feng Congwu, in particular, became famous in the world because he led the eunuchs to disrupt the government, destroyed Guanzhong Academy, and died on a hunger strike to express his will.

Liu Zongzhou had teachers and classmates like this. As long as he had a little ability, he would be praised among the scholars.

Not to mention that Liu Zongzhou was not just a little capable, but what he did could be called a living sage.

He was awarded Jinshi at the age of twenty-four. It stands to reason that Liu Zongzhou could not be poor. However, he has been an official for many years, and his family has always been extremely poor. It has even reached the point where "he is called to follow the road, but he cannot wear clothes." The family has no food and clothing, and often relies on loans to survive. Later, it was still dependent on his wife to "purchase twenty acres of farmland in addition to spinning, so that I could avoid loaning rice."

Because he "buys vegetables and curd for ten or twenty cents every day", he is called "Liu Tofu". He was also called "Liu Yidan" because he "went in and out of the capital with his luggage on his shoulders".

The imperial court praised him for his "vegetarian cloth robe, but in three months he doesn't know the taste of meat; his poor chariot and poor horse, but he is still a scholar at twenty years old."

It can be said that Liu Zongzhou's actions are just like what Confucius said when he praised Yan Hui: "How virtuous it is to return! With a basket of food and a ladle of drink, in a back alley, people can't bear their worries, but they will not change their happiness when they return. How virtuous it is to return home!" , come back!”

Anyone who sees him living in poverty and living happily has to say that he is a sage.

For decades like this, Liu Zongzhou became more and more respected, and his knowledge became more mature. After his friend Huang Zunsu was killed, he put forward the Confucian concept with "prudence on independence" as the core.

At this point, Liu Zongzhou's ideological system has been fully mature. Confucianism advocates the three immortalities of establishing one's words, establishing one's merits, and establishing one's virtues. He has already completed two of them: establishing one's words and establishing one's virtues——

If sainthood is a realm, Liu Zongzhou can be called a quasi-sage at this time. Moreover, he is a quasi-sage who has reached the ninth level of the Great Perfection. He is only one step away from becoming a sage.

If he died now, he could worship in the Confucius Temple. The only thing that separates us from the sages is the conclusion.

For such a Confucian, it's no wonder that when Wei Zhongxian was in power, he could only praise him as "a perfect man of his generation" and ostracize him back to his hometown, not daring to harm him——

In fact, if such a person dies, there will inevitably be a mark in the Confucius Temple. Even Wei Zhongxian, who is nine thousand years old, dare not bear this crime easily.

After Zhu Youjian appointed him as the censor of Qiandu, Liu Zongzhou's reputation in the world exploded. Because of Liu Zongzhou's former reputation, many people are willing to believe in this man and believe that he can uphold justice and reverse the cases of those who have been wronged.

That's why so many people gathered around Liu Zongzhou on his way to Beijing. It wasn't until the tenth day of February that we arrived in Beijing.

Zhu Youjian learned that Liu Zongzhou's visit to Beijing was so vigorous. After receiving the news of his arrival in Beijing, he immediately ordered his close eunuch Liu Ruoyu to go to the city gate to greet him. He also gave Liu Zongzhou a house to live in.

After Liu Zongzhou followed Liu Ruoyu into the house, he did not deliberately interact with other Donglin Party members. Zhu Youjian was even more satisfied, believing that Liu Zongzhou was united in knowledge and practice, practicing the knowledge of independence and not forming cliques.

Therefore, when he chose the officials of the Jingyan Banquet, he appointed Liu Zongzhou, Grand Master Ying Gong Zhang Weixian, and Chief Assistant Huang Liji as the Jingyan Banquet Officers. The remaining bachelors served as Tongzhi Jingyan officials, the Minister of Rites Wen Tiren and other nine ministers served as lecturers, and the editor of the Hanlin Academy Huang Jin and others served as exhibition officials.

This appointment caused an uproar in the court. Many people could see that the emperor regarded Liu Zongzhou as the emperor's master, and even made him the censor of Qiandu, on the same level as the Duke of the country and the chief minister.

Zhang Weixian and Huang Liji were appointed as officials of the banquet because of their status. One is the top military officer and the other is the top civil servant.

What can Liu Zongzhou have? The identity of the censor of Qiandu is nothing compared to the two of them. The emperor valued him naturally in other aspects.

Thinking about Liu Zongzhou's knowledge and status in Shilin, many people naturally believed that the emperor respected his knowledge and conduct and regarded him as a real teacher, so he treated him in this way.

This disgusted many civil servants, and Liu Zongzhou was also a little excited, thinking that after the chaos of the Tianqi years, the Ming Dynasty finally ushered in a wise king.

So he quickly submitted the memorial he had conceived on the road.

This memorial was sent to Zhu Youjian as quickly as possible by the Secretary of General Affairs:

"The meaning of "favors, gratitude, and censure to Jun, Yao, and Shun" is well written, really good!"

"Come here, let Di Bao, Beijing News and other newspapers publish it, and spread it out immediately."

Summoning Wang Chengen, Fang Hongzhan, Qian Jiazheng and others, Zhu Youjian personally ordered them to record excerpts of memorials and publish them in all newspapers and periodicals.

Regardless of Liu Zongzhou's original intention, this memorial was very useful to Zhu Youjian, representing his actions and practicing the principles of Yao and Shun.

Therefore, according to his own intention, he deleted Liu Zongzhou's memorials, retained the parts that were beneficial to him, and spread them to the outside officials and people:
"The name of Mr. Liu's memorial is too long. In my opinion, it is enough to keep only the last five characters, and call it "To the Lord Yao and Shun"." "In terms of content, the previous words 'Your Majesty's Holy Virtue Dangyang', "Put against great treason, remove great traitors, correct great evils," as well as the words "Your Majesty worked hard to seek governance, and the night was peaceful," and "Your Majesty was born to fulfill the wishes of Yao and Shun, and his appearance and appearance were not restrained, and his banquets and outings were not bowed."

"Finally, I wish Your Majesty to have a transcendent vision, to use the learning of Yao and Shun, to practice the way of Yao and Shun, to sacrifice oneself to make use of the virtuous people of the world, to save punishment and to make a new beginning with the world, and to start to make rituals and music to transform the world, which will last for three thousand years. Now that the holy tradition has been lost, the clan is very lucky! Wen Wen is very lucky! 'Now your Majesty has the resources of Yao and Shun, but the ministers in the court cannot follow the way of Yao and Shun', so they must also be preserved."

"Use punctuation marks to break up sentences and keep the easy-to-understand parts, so that the officials and people of the Ming Dynasty will know this memorial!"

Then he said to Qian Jiazheng:

"Qian Qing's family, you are good at writing articles. It should be fine if you polish the excerpts of this memorial, right?"

Qian Jiazheng understood the emperor's intention and took Liu Zongzhou's memorial out of context, excerpting only the parts that praised the emperor and omitting the other parts.

This is not very willing for him who has the guts to impeach Wei Zhongxian.

But the emperor was kind to him and promoted him to this position. He had to repay the favor, so he could only say:
"Mr. Liu is a famous Confucian in the world. If I delete or modify it without authorization, I may be criticized."

Zhu Youjian heard his embarrassment and said after thinking about it:

"Then just delete it without changing it, and extract everything from the original text."

"Not many people are willing to read such a long memorial."

"Just excerpt some important parts and let them see the key points."

"As the editor-in-chief of Di Daily, you have this responsibility."

Qian Jiazheng heard that it was his duty and finally said reluctantly:

"Then I'll give it a try."

"If I don't do a good job, I will have no choice but to resign!"

I haven’t completely abandoned my character, I plan to delete it in my own way.

Zhu Youjian was noncommittal and asked him to finalize the manuscript as soon as possible in the next room. He also asked Wang Chengen to coordinate all newspaper offices to do this well, and he must do the first thing he arranged after the newspaper industry was rectified.

Wang Chengen and Fang Hongzhan immediately understood the importance of this matter and knew that the emperor wanted to use this matter to determine the results of the rectification of the newspaper industry. So they all made up their minds to handle this matter well and follow the emperor's instructions to do a good job in publicity.

Zhu Youjian referred to the routines of later generations and asked them to arrange a group of people to discuss based on the excerpted "To Jun Yao and Shun Shu". Then publish some of the things he did after he ascended to the throne, and compare Liu Zongzhou's words such as "punishing the great rebellion, eradicating the great traitors, and correcting the great malpractice", "exerting efforts to seek governance, and staying at peace", and "doing it for Yao and for Shun", etc. In-depth analysis.

You must let the world know that you are practicing the ways of Yao and Shun, and you are a wise king committed to the rule of Yao and Shun.

He even compared it with this memorial when Emperor Tianqi passed on his throne and said, "My brother should be the king of Yao and Shun." Explain that he is the king of Yao and Shun according to the wishes of the emperor.

Wang Chengen and Fang Hongzhan deeply understood this under the emperor's guidance. I plan to instill these contents into everyone in the newspaper industry.

After Qian Jiazheng finalized the manuscript of the excerpt, he quickly got it to the emperor.

Zhu Youjian read it after seeing it and praised him very much. Because this excerpted manuscript removes some of Liu Zongzhou's comments, but completely retains his praise for himself.

And what is commendable is that after excerpting the excerpts, this article is still very smooth to read. If you don't point it out specifically, people will think it is a complete memorial.

This made Zhu Youjian very satisfied with Qian Jiazheng, thinking that he understood what he meant and was a qualified editor-in-chief. So he said:

"The author of this article can write Liu Zongzhou, and the editor can write your name."

"It's co-creation, and you can also leave your name behind."

However, Qian Jiazheng did not want to leave this name, thinking that it was a bit unethical to do so, and declined:
"Forget it about leaving your name."

"I work for His Majesty and don't expect this reputation."

I feel that if I do such a thing, my reputation will not be good.

Zhu Youjian heard what he meant and didn't force it. He thought for a moment and said:
"Then just give me a pen name. You can use it when editing or writing articles in the future."

"The newspapers and periodicals of the Daming News Agency are only publishing memorials now, but in the future they will summarize some news and publish it on it as well."

"As the editor-in-chief, you can also write manuscripts and get the same royalties."

"It would be easier to have a pen name."

Let Qian Jiazheng come up with a pen name as his nickname.

He also told Wang Chengen and Fang Hongzhan:

"The Qian Qing family can not only edit under a pseudonym, but also write articles under a pseudonym and publish them in other newspapers."

"You need to discuss with the newspaper association how pen names should be regulated, how many pen names each person can have, and how to trace their identity."

Then he turned to Qian Jiazheng and said to him:

"In the future, Qian Qing's family will be able to write some articles while being editor-in-chief."

"If you have any opinions you want to express, you can publish them in other newspapers."

Qian Jiazheng was very touched by such earnest instructions and actually solving the problem. The reluctance I felt when writing the article just now disappeared quickly——

The emperor was so reasonable, and he wanted to help the emperor do this just for the kindness of knowing him.

Mere memorials and excerpts mean nothing. The memorial written in the library is not a complete excerpt of the original text.

I excerpted it completely from the original text, what's the problem?
Even if Liu Zongzhou questioned him, he could still say that this memorial was written by him.

It can be said that after passing the psychological test, Qian Jiazheng quickly became a qualified editor. I know what I should do in my position as editor-in-chief.

After Zhu Youjian arranged these things and asked them not to forget to pay Liu Zongzhou the royalties. Let them print and spread this memorial all night long.

On the morning of February 11th, the streets and alleys of the capital were covered with newspapers, and the headlines on the front pages were all the same, which was Liu Zongzhou's "To Jun Yao and Shun Shu". (End of chapter)