golden scales

"His Royal Highness refused to return to the palace at the beginning, it was Huang Daozhou and Xie Xuelong who knelt down and begged each other, and he came back crying just now." Ding Ao bowed and stood beside the emperor, reporting the facts.

"As soon as the two gentlemen kneeled, did he obey?" Zhu Cihong asked seemingly unintentionally while playing with a coral jade ornament donated by Taiwan.

"His Royal Highness treated Huang Daozhou very kindly. He first called 'Mr. Huang to get up', and then helped him not to move, so he had no choice but to get on his horse and come back." Ding Ao replied, but he was quite relaxed about the word "cong" used by His Majesty the Emperor. not open.

Is this dissatisfaction with the crown prince?

His Majesty the emperor reused middle-ranking and female officials, and even made female officials take root in foreign courts. He has never been merciful to dissident ministers.The number of officials who ransacked their homes and exiled since the Longjingnian alone is probably more than the total of the 280 years before the Ming Dynasty.Take Ding Ao's own Dongchang as an example, the power is even greater than that of Wei Zhongxian's years of chaos.

Of course, it is impossible for such an emperor to like people who are indecisive and soft-hearted.

Even if this person is his son.

What's more, the words of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty to educate his son have been passed down for thousands of years. It is only necessary to change the subject of the words of Emperor Xuan of the Han Dynasty to Daming, which is suitable for the current court situation.It can be seen that the deep relationship between the crown prince and the Confucian officials is not a good signal.Ding Ao even felt a chill down his spine.

If he could live to the age of his adoptive father Liu Ruoyu, he would most likely be able to meet the new emperor.At that time, will Confucian officials make a comeback and settle accounts after the fall?It is a blessing to endure hardships when young, and it is really bad luck to be assigned to Bianzhen when you are old.

Zhu Cihong sat on the armchair, raised his head and stretched his stiff neck, feeling quite unacceptable that his son would be disobedient when he grew up.

Even in his previous life, he belonged to the young and mature category, self-conscious and self-disciplined, and studied hard.It is a typical "other people's child".In his memory, he didn't seem to be rebellious, and he worshiped his father very much.

Suddenly, Zhu Cihong seemed to see the figures of his parents in his previous life, but his face seemed to be covered with mist.

"Go to Zhongcui Palace." Zhu Cihong stood up abruptly, deciding to go see the crown prince himself.

……

Zhongcui Palace was very quiet.Zhu Hegui sat in front of the writing desk, breathing long and hard, writing the post seriously.At this moment, Zhu Cihong seems to have seen his own childhood after reincarnation, a long stage of loneliness that no one can understand, or disdain to understand.

Now the son looks at him, probably as he looked at the emperor's father Chongzhen back then.They all felt that his father had no vision and did many wrong things.Zhu Cihong thought to himself.

However, what he relies on is the knowledge and ideas hundreds of years later, while the crown prince's questioning of his father is due to the moral indoctrination of others.

"Father." Zhu Hegui wrote another line.Only then did he realize that his father had been standing by his side watching for a long time, he put down his pen and stood up to salute.

"I have something on my mind." Zhu Cihong lightly tapped the rice paper, pretending to be casual, "Go for a walk?"

Zhu Hegui nodded, and followed his father out of the study dully.

The father and son didn't go far, just took a walk in the backyard of Zhongcui Palace.

Zhu Cilang raised a topic and asked, "What did Mr. Huang say before leaving?"

"Mr. Huang asked my ministers to study hard. If you have any doubts, you should consult a great scholar." Zhu Hegui didn't know that the emperor had good eyes and ears, so he concealed Liu Zongzhou's name out of cleverness.

"Great Confucianism." Zhu Cihong sighed and said, "Great Confucianism didn't just say it. It was done."

"Make it?" Zhu Hegui wondered.

"Yes, you have to do things to prove that you really uphold benevolence and righteousness. It's not just talking about it." Zhu Cihong tilted his head, looking at the crown prince who looked more and more like his own.He said: "Have you heard of Zhang Juzheng?"

"It seems to be the chief assistant of the dynasty." Zhu Hegui's history class has not yet covered modern history.

"It's a cabinet minister of the Longqing and Wanli dynasties." Zhu Cihong said with a chuckle: "There are mixed reputations, but he is a real power minister. Do you know that he was the teacher of the temple master. He is the most respected, almost to the point of awe."

Crown Prince Zhu and Gui were a little surprised.It seemed to him that it was impossible for the emperor to be afraid of anyone.Because apart from heaven and ancestors, there is no greater background than the emperor.But God and ancestors will not show up in person.

"Zhang Juzheng died in the tenth year of Wanli. The master of the temple gave him the posthumous title of Wenzhong to Shangzhu Kingdom, and he was already a grand master and grand master before his death." Zhu Cilang paused.Said: "It's a pity that not long after, all these mourning honors were deprived, and the whole family was confiscated. You may not know the procedure of my confiscation of the house. Before the official confiscation, the confiscated people are not allowed to enter and leave, so the Zhang family is still alive. More than a dozen people died, it was horrible."

Zhu Hegui frowned and grinned, as if they had eaten something sour.

"Why did this happen?" Zhu Cihong asked: "Look at the last first and second assistants of the imperial grandfather, Chen Yan and Wei Dezao. Not only did they not serve the throne, but they even betrayed the country and surrendered to the enemy. After the restoration of the country, your imperial grandfather They didn't exterminate their clan either. Because this is the last trace of decency between the monarch and his ministers, and it must be maintained. Then why does the temple want to be so decisive against its respected master?"

"Why is that?" Zhu Hegui couldn't help asking curiously.

"Because the temple has turned from love to hatred for Zhang Juzheng, it's a deep hatred." Zhu Cihong saw that his son was even more confused, and said again: "When Zhang Juzheng was in power, he asked the temple to be frugal everywhere, even to raise a few actors in the palace. Admonishment. The temple has always obeyed the master’s words and never indulged itself. It was not until Zhang Juzheng’s death that the temple knew that Zhang Juzheng’s ostentation was greater than that of the prince! The sedan chair turned out to be a whole house on wheels. There are seats and desks, and you can walk around and rest, and it cannot be driven by dozens of people."

"That's why the temple hates Zhang Juzheng so much." Zhu Cihong said in a low voice.

Zhu Hegui lowered his head, still unable to understand why his father suddenly said this to himself.

"Your love for Mr. Huang now is no less than the respect and love for Zhang Juzheng that the temple had for Zhang Juzheng back then. Heaven, earth, master, master, this is not wrong." Zhu Cihong said: "But if you find that Mr. Huang's appearance is different from what he is in the future, it is not in your mind Would you feel pain in your heart for such a perfect person? Would you feel that you were cheated? Would you hate him?"

Zhu Hegui was so questioned that tears fell down: "Father, Mr. Huang is not a person like Zhang Juzheng!"

"Even if my father is the emperor, I can't just talk nonsense." Zhu Cihong said: "That's why my father agreed to Mr. Huang's going to North Korea to promote the holy religion. If Mr. Huang is as good as he looks, then the court will naturally reuse him. If not... also Finally, you can see a person clearly, you don’t have to hate him, do you?”

Zhu and Gui remained silent and did not answer.

"And Mr. Huang is also waiting for such an opportunity to practice the righteousness of his beliefs, otherwise he will not know where he is still lacking, where he is not wise enough. Do you remember the poem: What is on paper is always shallow .Know that this matter has to be done.”

"Lu You's "Winter Night Reading Show Zi Yu"." Zhu Hegui said.

Zhu Cihong nodded: "This is it."

"But my father," Zhu Hegui said seriously, "I still disagree with my father's saying that Mr. Huang is a pedantic person. I also don't agree with my father's saying that my son is a pedantic person! It's a matter of righteousness and reason, so we have to argue!"

Zhu Cilang stopped, and suddenly remembered what Chongzhen had said to him: You may not care what the world thinks of you, but it is impossible not to care how your son thinks of you.

The scene at that time is vivid, Zhu Hegui was still a meatball being held in the arms of the nurse.I don't believe in my father's words, and I even take it for granted that my son should worship him, and even worship him.But now look at this little moralist.Zhu Cihong even thought of "retribution".

Thinking back to his father, Emperor Chongzhen, when he watched his son slashing through all obstacles for profit, he must have such heartache.

"The level of righteousness is too low." Zhu Cilang sighed: "A minister should abide by righteousness, but a ruler cannot stick to righteousness."

"Why is this?"

"Because righteousness will destroy benevolence." Zhu Cihong suddenly found that the Confucianism education he had heard before seemed to be still in his mind, and it was enough to use it to educate children at critical moments.

"As Mencius said, it is righteousness for a man and a woman to give and receive. However, it is benevolence for a sister-in-law to help her. If you stick to the previous righteousness and watch your sister-in-law drown, this is pedantry and harm benevolence." Zhu Cihong said.

Zhu Hegui said: "My father also understands the changes in the classics and powers mentioned by the emperor. But my son's insistence on righteousness is not only harmless to benevolence, but also to persuade the emperor and father to be close to benevolence. Why are you accused of being pedantic?"

"Because..." Zhu Cihong was at a loss for words for a while, but couldn't say more, so he could only say: "Because you are still young, and you don't have the wisdom and experience to be 'benevolence'."

Zhu and Gui were a little unconvinced.

"Let's put it this way." Zhu Cihong said: "Last year, a sea ship going to Ryukyu was hit by a storm, and the ship was wrecked. Ten people squeezed into a sampan. Finally, there was a chance to float to the shore and be rescued.

"However, these ten people found two people alive in the sea and called for help. If they were allowed to come up, the small sampan would sink, and none of the twelve people would survive. If you are the head of the ten people, the other nine people are all alone. If you say to save them, they will die willingly; if you say not to save them, they will be happy to survive. How should you make a decision?"

Zhu Hegui was stunned for a moment: it is obviously inhumane to refuse to save them.However, it seems a bit unwise to take everyone's lives in order to save these two people.But if a person is not benevolent, how is he different from a beast?

"I..." Zhu and Gui wanted to say: I'll jump off and someone else will come up.Suddenly another question came to mind, there are two people below, who should I replace?And no matter who he changed, would he just let the other drown with him?

"Can I go down with a certain gentleman on the boat and replace those two people?" Zhu Hegui finally found a solution: "Seek benevolence and benevolence, and die without regret."

"If you want to label people, you have to label them all." Zhu Cihong chuckled, "The ten people on board include a famous doctor like Mr. Yu who has lived countless lives, and a great talent like Mr. Wang Kuixin who will benefit thousands of years. Veteran generals like Mo Xiaodonglou who can determine the world with martial arts, officials like Wu, Sun, Jiang, and Cai who are able to stabilize the country...the two in the water are ordinary sailors. Oh, each of these people is willing to sacrifice their lives for righteousness, you decide to make it happen who?"

Zhu Hegui had some headaches. Originally seeking benevolence and gaining benevolence is very simple. A gentleman who is willing to sacrifice himself can just jump into the water.But now the father changed the subject, and turned back to ask him to choose someone.

No matter how you look at it, there is no choice!

"You have to decide quickly, otherwise the two people in the water will freeze to death due to loss of body temperature." Zhu Cihong urged.

Zhu and Gui were speechless for a long time.

"You can consult those great Confucian scholars." Zhu Cihong said, "When you figure it out, you can answer it later."

There is no standard answer to this multiple choice question.Wolves, utilitarians, hypocrites... each has its own answer, and none of them can be evaluated with value judgments.However, this question is also a touchstone for testing one's own beliefs. If a famous Confucian in China gives the answer of "turning a blind eye", it is obvious that his Confucian status is open to question.

Sure enough, Zhu Hegui sent the question to Huang Daozhou the next day.

Before Huang Daozhou had gone far, he received a letter from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and he was quite relieved by the accident.When he carefully read the question, which seemed to be deliberately making things difficult, he found that the metaphors in it were very sharp, and it was even a bit like the emperor defending his own administration.

After all, Confucianists cannot say the words of sacrificing human life.

So Huang Daozhou went straight through Shanhaiguan before he wrote back saying that he was too smart to solve this problem, and suggested that the crown prince consult Liu Zongzhou.

After Liu Zongzhou read it, he looked inscrutable. He didn't say that he knew or didn't know, but just gave the question to his disciples.As a result, the topic raised by His Majesty the Emperor became widely known immediately, and everyone from the old Shangshu to the traffickers and pawns would express their thoughts.

However, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince still couldn't find the answer he wanted, so naturally he couldn't reply to His Majesty the Father.

Therefore, this topic became the biggest topic at the end of the year in the capital, and it was circulated lively until the sixth year of Longjing before it gradually fell out of people's attention.

Because Longjing just arrived in the sixth year, there was a lot of good news one after another.

First, the steam-powered plow machine was very popular in the Northeast, reclaiming hundreds of thousands of acres of wasteland.Another [-] companies went to the northeast to set up factories, specializing in the manufacture of plow machines.Of course, the technology they used was purchased from the Liao family, because the current steam engine power is different from the original era when anyone could imitate it.The efficiency of the steam engine produced by Seiko has far exceeded that of the old machine.

Under the good news of the development of the Northeast, the West is also receiving good news.The Northwest Group Army formed by Xiao Mo and Dang Shousu dispatched troops to Hami in December of the fifth year of Longjing, and in the first month of the sixth year, the victory was reported. The army defeated the defenders of the Yarkand Khanate in Hami in one fell swoop, and completely recovered the Acropolis of Hami.

In February, the leader of the Junggar Tribe, Sengge, asked for an audience and was granted.At the same time, the Ministry of Rites spread the news that Sengge was to be canonized as the commander of Hasadus, to test the intention of the government and the opposition.

Although Sengge has not yet entered Beijing, Turubaihu, who has returned to Qinghai-Tibet, has gathered tribal troops, contacted the Junggar tribe, and together declared war on the Yaerqiang Khanate whose capital is Shache. This Turkic country, which is also a descendant of Genghis Khan, is bound to leave. Buddhist sphere of influence.

Longjing's six years are destined not to be mediocre.

ps: Today's 4k chapter, thank you for your support.

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