I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 174 A Loyal Student for No Reason
When Li Shanchang walked into Song Shen's office, the latter had already made two cups of tea and was sitting comfortably on the leather sofa waiting for him to come in.

Seeing that he had been standing at the door after pushing it open, as if waiting for his instructions, Song Shen smiled and greeted him:
"Duke Han, please come in. There's no need to be so restrained."

"Just sit here."

If the situation wasn't stronger than the people, and if the people outside the door weren't too far away and couldn't hear what was said inside, Li Shanchang would have wished he could sew his mouth shut.

He really wanted to ask a question - you dared to call His Majesty by his name, but now you call me and you call me Duke of Korea, how can I live with myself? !
But Li Shanchang didn't dare to speak.

He came in slowly and closed the door. He did not do as he was told, but just took a few steps towards Song Shen and stood beside him to talk.

"Mr. Song, His Majesty has just told me about the tutoring class. You don't have to be so polite. Just address me like you would address other classmates."

Hearing him say this, Song Shen wanted to laugh.

After all this time, it turns out that they were coerced and bribed by Zhu Yuanzhang, so they didn't dare to speak properly.

Song Shen did not refuse him, but just smiled and nodded:
"Okay, Mr. Li, don't be shy. I want to talk to you in private. I just have something to ask you."

"Although we are now teachers and students in the tutoring class, you are so old after all. I feel bad talking to you standing while I am sitting. So you should sit down so we can have a good talk."

Having said that, it would be ungrateful to refuse.

A shrewd person like Li Shanchang can tell whether the other person is speaking politely or sincerely.

He also did not refuse and sat down with his clothes lifted.

"Mr. Song, before you ask me anything, can you answer a question for me first? This is related to my future situation in the class. As you know, His Majesty is outside."

Song Shen paused and nodded:

"Okay, you say."

Li Shanchang didn't expect him to be so easy to talk to. All the speeches he had prepared were useless. He paused for a moment before he could continue speaking smoothly.

"Why am I in this class? The people outside are all emperors and generals. Although I have been a prime minister, I have already retired and lived at home. I can't compare with those people who are currently serving outside."

"Your Majesty wants to know this too. Everyone is curious..."

He didn't finish his words, but Song Shen could certainly hear the implication, he was not a fool.

Li Shanchang observed Song Shen's expression, always ready to patch up the problem just now.

He actually wanted to know why the people outside, including His Majesty, could receive a notification when a new person came in, but he didn't. But His Majesty had warned him not to let Song Shen know that they were all real people. If he asked this question, wouldn't it be possible that he would be exposed? How could a group of ghosts and fake people know who the new person was?
Even if Li Shanchang had no idea about the so-called system, he knew a logic, that is, there is a difference between real people and fake people. It seems that Song Shen is just practicing with them, and he teaches a group of "fake people" for some purpose. If he knew that the Majesty here is the Majesty he knows, how dare he call Zhu Yuanzhang classmate directly?

Li Shanchang's logic was very good, so he asked in a different way.

No matter what you ask, as long as you know why you are special, it will be the same anyway.

Song Shen never thought that Li Shanchang would ask about this.

He thought for a moment before saying:
"Because I chose you personally, I need to ask you something."

"The others were randomly assigned to the tutoring class, but you were specially invited in because I thought of something related to you."

Li Shanchang nodded with apparent understanding, but his heart was already in turmoil.

Given his status, he certainly didn't know Song Shen in real life, but Song Shen was the eldest grandson that Song Lian had worked hard to cultivate. Song Lian's two sons in the middle were mediocre in talent, so it was almost certain that Song Shen would inherit Song Lian's connections. As the head of the civil officials, Li Shanchang still paid attention to the developments in the court even though he had retired from the powerful position of prime minister. Of course, it was impossible that he had not heard of this person.

But since he chose to retreat while the storm was brewing, it was because he wanted to leave this mess and protect himself.

Now it is clear that Song Shen holds an extremely important position in His Majesty's heart... Why is it that he can be related to him, and is so important that Song Shen wants to pull him into this inexplicable tutoring class? Why would he make such a fuss?

Seeing him lost in thought, Song Shen coughed lightly:
"I have answered your question. Now, can I ask you something?"

"Student Li, I want to know, what is your relationship with Hu Weiyong like?"

Li Shanchang suddenly looked up and stared at Song Shen, his eyes full of shock and horror.

Even a little scared and panicked.

He was really a little scared.

His Majesty visited him late at night yesterday and asked him to attend Hu Weiyong's banquet, taking this opportunity to find out their movements. To put it bluntly, he was going to be a spy and a nail planted by His Majesty into Hu's party.

Now there was Song Shen, who not only used his unpredictable power to pull him into this tutoring class, breaking the original rules without notifying anyone in advance, but also called him into the office to question him in public...

What on earth is going on with Hu Weiyong? What is the relationship between Song Shen and Hu Weiyong? Why has he never heard of him? !
"Student Li Shanchang, don't worry, don't be afraid."

Song Shen also felt that his question was a bit presumptuous, so he smiled and comforted him:
"I don't know if the students outside, or Zhu Yuanzhang, have told you just now that I can understand the history of the past two thousand years, including the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties after the Ming Dynasty. I know almost everything recorded in history."

"This means that I also know about the major events that happened during the Hongwu Dynasty."

"My full name is Song Shen. Unfortunately, there was a person with the same name as me during the Hongwu period. In the 13th year of Hongwu, he was implicated in a huge case, which led to the destruction of his family. You should have heard of his grandfather, whose name is Song Lian."

"And the case involving the Song family is known as the first of the four major cases of Hongwu, that is, the Hu Weiyong case."

"Hu Weiyong's body was not intact. Not only that, his case has been going on for more than ten years, implicating 30,000 people, including the Song family, and of course, your Li Shanchang's Li family."

"I haven't talked about this case in class. Even your Majesty Zhu Yuanzhang has never heard me talk about it. I always feel that it's a bit unlucky. After all, this person has the same name as me, and I usually don't want to mention it." "The four major cases of Hongwu have been recorded in history, but not very clearly. You were the head of the civil servants, and you must know the power of the Spring and Autumn style of writing. I'm more interested in the Hu Weiyong case recently, so I pulled you in to hear about your experience. Although I can also ask Zhu Yuanzhang, he is the emperor and the one who took action against Hu Weiyong, so his words are naturally not very credible."

"Do you understand what I mean by asking this?"

Li Shanchang: ...

Li Shanchang now wants to die.

He finally understood that the Song Shen in front of him had no idea that he had been thoroughly investigated in the tenth year of Hongwu. Song Shen didn't even know that the students here had already figured out the rules of the system. Not only did they treat him as a real person, they also pretended that they were not Song Shen from the Hongwu Dynasty, trying to distance themselves from the matter.

How should I answer this?
As a scholar who knows about the past two thousand years, he wants to ask about the major cases of the Hongwu Dynasty out of curiosity. Is there anything wrong with this? There is no flaw.

If Li Shanchang didn't know the truth, he would have no reason to refuse. He should even be grateful and hold Song Shen's thigh to exchange information with him in order to protect himself in the upcoming storm.

But he knows!!!
Not only did he know, but from the fact that His Majesty came to his house last night, it was obvious that His Majesty had also guessed about Hu Weiyong's affairs. Given that person's personality, it was impossible for him not to contact Song Shen in real life. Perhaps someone in the palace had already approached Song Shen and might have found out more.

Just look at the recent trend of the court and you will know that if there is no major incident, how could His Majesty inexplicably summon all the princes to Yingtianfu? As for the matter of opening the special examination, Li Shanchang had long felt that the recent court movements were strange. Now that he knew that there was someone like Song Shen who was well-versed in history, and there was also Zhu Di who became the emperor in the tutoring class, this matter could be completely explained.

Li Shanchang took a deep breath and then let out a long breath.

"Mr. Song, I understand."

He looked at Song Shen and spoke carefully:
"In my place, it is now the tenth year of Hongwu, do you know?"

Song Shen nodded. Of course he knew this, otherwise what was the point of the system bringing in Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhu Biao and Li Shanchang? Only by knowing oneself and the enemy, and understanding the people in power at the same time as himself, could he be sure to avoid death in the future.

Li Shanchang was not surprised and continued:
"If what you said is true, I will be implicated in Hu Weiyong's case. This is possible, but the possibility is not high."

"His niece married my nephew two years earlier. Strictly speaking, our two families are related by marriage. In addition, he was promoted by me and started to rise rapidly in the industry. I am indebted to him. If anything happens to him, I will be investigated by His Majesty and held accountable. This is certain."

"However, I have always been very careful. His appetite has become bigger in recent years, and he even has the tendency to interfere in other people's affairs. Your Majesty will definitely not allow someone like him to continue to control the government, and I dare not have much contact with him. But my brother does not see this clearly. He wants to cling to the Prime Minister and even persuades me to do the same."

"Although I didn't know when His Majesty would take action against him before you told me, and I couldn't persuade my brother, but my family would definitely keep their distance from him. He did such a ruthless thing, even if His Majesty wanted to take action against me, he wouldn't do it right away, otherwise it would chill the hearts of all my old friends."

"Mr. Song, can you tell me, in the future, when did His Majesty make a move on me?"

Since Song Shen knew nothing about being targeted in reality, and now they were the only two talking, Li Shanchang certainly wanted to know when he would die.

He wanted to know what would have happened in the future if he had not been coerced and bribed by His Majesty to become a spy; Song Shen wanted to know the details that Li Shanchang knew so that he could deal with future disturbances. This was a win-win situation for both sides. Li Shanchang had spoken, and there was no reason for the other party not to speak.

Song Shen carefully checked the information and memorized everything recorded in the Hu Weiyong case. Of course, he also remembered the downfall of Li Shanchang, a heavyweight figure.

However, in order to avoid making mistakes, Song Shen took a piece of draft paper from the desk and placed it on the coffee table in front of the two of them.

He pointed at the contents on the paper and read out Li Shanchang's fate in a reading tone.

"According to historical records, in the 13th year of Hongwu, Hu Weiyong was executed for treason, and many people were implicated and executed, but Li Shanchang remained the same. The Censorate was short of a chancellor, and Li Shanchang temporarily took charge of the affairs of the Censorate."

"In the 18th year of Hongwu, someone reported that Li Cunyi and his son were actually Hu Weiyong's followers. The Ming Taizu issued an edict to spare their lives and settled them in Chongming, but Li Shanchang did not express his gratitude, so Taizu held a grudge against him."

"In the 23rd year of Hongwu, some people in the capital were implicated and exiled to the frontier. Li Shanchang repeatedly requested for the pardon of his relatives Ding Bin and others. Taizu was furious and convicted Ding Bin. Ding Bin's past experience at Hu Weiyong's home revealed Li Cunyi and others' past interactions with Hu Weiyong. So Taizu ordered the arrest and interrogation of Li Cunyi and his son, and their confessions implicated Li Shanchang."

"The confession said that Hu Weiyong was plotting a rebellion and sent Li Cunyi to secretly persuade Li Shanchang. Li Shanchang was shocked and asked, 'Why are you saying this? You must be careful, otherwise all nine clans will be exterminated.'"

"Soon after, they sent Li Shanchang's old friend Yang Wenyu to persuade him, saying, 'After the matter is accomplished, I will make you a king in Huaixi.' Li Shanchang was horrified and still disagreed, but he was quite tempted."

"——Do you want me to say more about what happened next?"

Li Shanchang stretched out his hand and picked up the paper tremblingly.

The back of the paper was obviously Song Shen's draft, written very sloppily, with missing characters, and it was impossible to recognize what was written. The handwriting on the front was very square, and each character was exactly the same size, which was impossible for a human to write. If it were in the past, Li Shanchang would definitely ask what was going on, but he was not in the mood now.

Everything Song Shen hadn't finished saying was written on the paper.

Li Shanchang's voice was trembling as he continued to read to himself:
"Although Li Shanchang was a relative of the emperor, he knew there was a rebellious plot but did not expose it. Instead, he hesitated and watched, with two minds in his heart, which was extremely treasonous. At that time, someone said that there would be a change in the stars and a disaster. The result of divination was that the disaster would befall the ministers. So Taizu executed him along with his wife, daughter, brothers, nephews and more than 70 people in his family."

"Ji'an Marquis Lu Zhongheng, Yan'an Marquis Tang Shengzong, Pingliang Marquis Fei Ju, Nanxiong Marquis Zhao Yong, Xingyang Marquis Zheng Yuchun, Yichun Marquis Huang Bin, Henan Marquis Lu Ju, the late Yingyang Marquis Yang Jing, Jining Marquis Gu Shi and several others, Taizu personally issued an edict to list their crimes, added them to the prison statement, compiled them into "Three Records of Exposing the Traitors", and announced them to the world..."

Li Shanchang couldn't continue reading.

He loosened his hands, and the piece of paper fell lightly to the ground, but he seemed unaware of it, and covered his face with a pair of withered hands. Song Shen couldn't see his expression, but could feel that the whole office was filled with great sorrow.

"Good, good, good!"

Li Shanchang let go of his hand, his cloudy eyes filled with sadness and reluctance:

"This is indeed something your majesty can do."

"Sir, can you save me? I am not afraid of death, but no one would be willing to end up like this at the end of the day."

Song Shenwei smiled and nodded decisively.

"Of course. As long as you can tell me the secrets that are not written in history books, I can help you."

It's okay to give Li Shanchang some advice based on the historical materials he has read. It won't affect my real self anyway. I get a good student who is grateful to me and smart for nothing. It's really a big win!
(End of this chapter)