I open a history tutorial class in Daming

Chapter 75: King's Grace and Teacher's Grace

After everyone had discussed it with their own ulterior motives.

The bell rang on time.

The emperors, generals and ministers returned to their hometowns and started to get busy.

Ming Dynasty, the tenth year of Hongwu, at Song Shen’s home.

As soon as he came back, Song Shen asked Lan Yun to go to Zhang's house next door to deliver a note, asking Zhang Wei to come over after work.

He didn't know that his brother Congming, who was honest and reliable and whom he trusted very much, was now being interrogated in the Wuying Palace.

…………

Half an hour after class was over.

Wuying Palace.

"Has Song Shen done anything else in the past two days? Apart from the potato incident, has he asked you to help with anything else?"

Zhu Yuanzhang did not put on airs and did not sit on the dragon throne. Instead, he sat in the seat in the middle of the hall.

On his left hand sat Zhu Biao, and on his right hand sat Zhang Wei, and both father and son were staring at the latter with burning eyes.

Zhang Wei felt goose bumps all over his body and all his sweat glands were working like crazy. It was clearly late autumn, but his underwear was almost soaked with sweat.

Anyone who was in this situation, being stared at and questioned by the emperor and the crown prince, and the emperor who usually killed officials without blinking an eye but was so kind at this moment, would probably be so scared that they would want to die, right?

Zhang Wei suppressed his inner fear and answered with his head down:
"Reporting to Your Majesty, he has indeed never..."

"But I have something to say, but I don't know whether I should say it or not."

Zhu Yuanzhang raised his eyebrows:

"Any questions you ask me about whether I should say them or not, I shouldn't say them at all! Your question is just bullshit!"

"However, considering that you have a good relationship with Song Shen, go ahead and tell us what you have to say."

The sweat on Zhang Wei's head was almost forming a stream, but it was blocked by the hat so that it did not drip down continuously like a faucet.

He calmed himself down, he was still very panicked, but he had to say what he wanted to say.

"Your Majesty, I was assigned by you and had the honor of becoming Song Longmen's student in my early twenties. It was with his guidance and your Majesty's trust that I am where I am today."

"So I am grateful for your majesty's grace and my teacher's teachings. Otherwise, I would be a person without a king or a father."

"That is why I have the guts to ask you a question today..."

"What did Ziwei do wrong that made you so afraid of him that you even sent the Yiluansi and me to follow him and report everything that happened to him? If he really had the intention of treason, even if he was the eldest grandson of the teacher, I would be loyal to the king and do things for His Majesty. But although Ziwei's temperament changed drastically after he was injured, he was still kind and trusted me very much. What's wrong with him? I really can't figure it out!"

After saying this, Zhang Wei stood up from his seat and knelt on the ground.

He didn't dare to look up, but just lowered his head with his hands clasped. He was sweating more and more, and his body was trembling slightly, waiting for the emperor's final answer.

There was nothing wrong with his brain. After ten years of ups and downs in the political arena, he had gained memory and experience. He knew that his question was extremely offensive and he shouldn't have asked it, as it might bring him death.

But knowing is one thing, but not asking is something you cannot do.

Zhang Wei was Song Lian's student, and Song Shen was Song Lian's eldest grandson. The two were almost the same age, and Zhang Wei had treated this young man as his own brother since they met. Later, Song Shen suffered a head injury and lost his memory and eyesight. Whether from the perspective of repaying the teacher's kindness or personal feelings, it was right for Zhang Wei to help him more.

But because of this relationship, he is now used by His Majesty and ordered to find out about Song Shen's news at all times...

At the beginning, at the Wangyue Tower, His Majesty could still say that he was curious about Song Shen's injury and wanted to conceal his identity and chat with him, but things had come to the point where the Yiluansi had to lie on the beam to eavesdrop on the conversation, which was really a bit too much.

Isn't this treating Ziwei as a criminal?

Zhang Wei considered himself to be neither a good nor a bad person, but just a mediocre person. He did not dare to disobey the emperor's order, nor did he dare to secretly tell Song Shen that he was being monitored by the emperor. However, this matter was not resolved. Every time he finished talking to the blind Song Shen, he would wake up in the middle of the night and want to slap himself twice, making it difficult for him to sleep or eat.

There was a long silence.

Just when Zhang Wei thought he was about to be skinned and stuffed with straw.

Suddenly, a loud laugh came from above my head.

"Hahahaha, we weren't wrong about you, and Song Shen wasn't wrong about you either!"

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily, and there was no sign of unhappiness in his voice. He waved his hand at Zhu Biao:

"Biao'er, help him up."

Zhang Wei didn't dare to ask the Crown Prince to help him up personally, so he quickly crawled back on his knees, avoiding Zhu Biao's hand, and then slowly stood up.

Looking at his still frightened face, Zhu Yuanzhang kept smiling and even patted the seat next to him:

"Don't worry, we don't blame you. Come, sit down and talk." After hesitating for a while, Zhang Wei finally sat back carefully, but he only dared to sit halfway, ready to slide to his knees on the spot at any time.

Zhu Yuanzhang took a sip of tea and his tone calmed down a bit:

"If we really treated Song Shen as a criminal, would he still be alive today?"

"Don't you think about it? Earlier, Song Shen proposed to form a fleet to go out to sea in front of me and Biao'er. If we really wanted to deal with him, this alone would be enough to confiscate the Song family's property and exile them. Why would we bother to find someone to go to great lengths to build a fleet? That's just a waste of time."

Zhang Weiyi was stunned.

He didn't hear about this at first, but Zhu Biao did mention it when he went to find Song Shen yesterday. He didn't quite understand it at that time.

But now when I heard it, wow, Song Shen asked people to form a fleet and go out to sea, and found the emperor and the crown prince. If this happened anywhere, it would be like looking for a lantern in a toilet - he was looking for death!

He slowly came to his senses, but still couldn't help but speak:
"Then, Your Majesty, why do you continue to monitor him like this?"

Zhu Yuanzhang curled his lips and asked instead of answering:
"Do you know what the potato that Song Shen gave you earlier is?"

Zhang Wei shook his head honestly:
"I don't know the details. Ziwei only told me that potatoes are a good thing from the Western Regions. If they can be successfully planted in Ming Dynasty, we can have one more food that can be used as both food and vegetable. It will be a hundred benefits without any harm."

These were the contents of the conversations recorded by Mao Xiang, so Zhu Yuanzhang certainly knew about them.

The reason why he asked this question was to lay the groundwork.

"Okay, let me tell you now. In addition to what Song Shen told you, potatoes have a more important characteristic. He probably didn't tell you because he was afraid of scaring you, and because there is no output and no certainty at the moment."

Zhu Yuanzhang looked into Zhang Wei's eyes and said word by word:

"Potatoes can be used as both food and vegetables, with an output of more than 1,000 kilograms per mu. They are not picky about the soil and can be grown in all parts of the Ming Dynasty. They can also be stored in cellars for a long time. If they can be successfully grown and promoted, the people of the Ming Dynasty will no longer have to worry about going hungry, and at least they can survive a famine."

"Zhang Wei, do you know now?"

"Song Shen's life is more important than that of all the imperial censors combined. Let's let him live next door to your house, and have Mao Xiang take people from the Yiluansi to stake out near his house. In addition to surveillance, the most important thing is to ensure his safety."

“He’s the only one who knows exactly how to grow potatoes, and he has more than just potatoes!”

The expression on Zhang Wei's face is hard to describe.

If I have to describe it, it would be blank, without any expression.

There were a lot of messy questions in his mind.

For example, Song Shen didn't even tell himself the potato yield, so why did Your Majesty know it so clearly?
For example, Song Shen took out the potatoes after he moved next door. Your Majesty sent people in advance to arrange Song Shen's accommodation in advance. Could he have predicted it?

For example... where did Song Shen get all these goodies from? Does he know?
These questions were tangled up in Zhang Wei's mind, but he didn't dare to ask.

When he questioned His Majesty for keeping Song Shen as a prisoner, Zhang Wei had already made up his mind to die. Even if he risked his life, he had to find a balance between the grace of the emperor and the grace of his teacher, and he didn't want to continue to suffer. But when His Majesty really gave him the answer, he really didn't understand it -

After Ziwei hit his head, did he become a treasure pot and a popular commodity?

What’s going on, teacher? Does anyone know?
"As Song Shen and I have warned you before, don't tell your teacher about this matter."

As if he had seen through Zhang Wei's doubts, Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly:

"Song Lian doesn't know about this. If you tell him, it will be very difficult for Song Shen to deal with him. We also have to be on guard against him bringing people back to eastern Zhejiang at any time."

"You should know your teacher's personality. He has been avoiding the disputes in the court for many years. To put it nicely, he is only devoted to reading the books of sages. To put it bluntly, he eats the emperor's salary but is unwilling to be loyal to the emperor and work for us. He is unwilling to do anything for us. When he came to Song Shen, he was still unwilling to do anything!"

"So, what should and shouldn't be said, do you understand?"

Zhang Wei shuddered and finally understood everything that was a mess.

No wonder, not only did His Majesty instruct him to keep it a secret from the teacher, but even when Song Shen asked him to help find someone to grow potatoes, he emphasized that it should be kept secret, not even to his grandfather or his own teacher.

Song Lian wanted the Song family to retreat bravely amid the impending upheavals in the imperial court.

Song Shen obviously believed that the Song family would not be spared from the catastrophe, so he chose to keep a trump card in advance and plant potatoes. When the Song family was in disaster, he would use the potatoes, the gold nuggets in the soil, to save his life.

Zhang Wei could not judge which of these two approaches was better, but judging from the emperor's current attitude, Song Shen had obviously succeeded in gaining the emperor's high attention.

Until he took out all the good things in his pocket, Zhu Yuanzhang would never touch him or the Song family.

"Your Majesty, I will obey your command."

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Wei stood up again and bowed to the ground.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang did not ask Zhu Biao to help him up, but said in a calm and steady voice:

"Go ahead. You will be on duty at the Censorate from now on. Just stay at home and wait for news from Song Shen at any time. We will make arrangements for you."

(End of this chapter)