Prodigal Son of the Ming Dynasty

  Chapter 1405 Entering the Palace

   Early the next morning.

  The sky is slightly bright.

It rains.

  The drizzle was light, pattering down, lingering on the bluestone slabs of the sidewalk in central Beijing.

  At this time, people from Wucheng Bingmasi haunted the streets and alleys and began to clean up.

  After His Royal Highness the Crown Prince took office as Governor of Shuntian Mansion, he took control of the military and horse divisions of the five cities and recruited a large number of cleaning personnel.

  At first, people felt that this was a waste of money, but slowly, when the garbage and cross-flow sewage on the street were all swept away, people realized the benefits of this cleaning.

  People are like this, when they get used to better things, they can never go back.

  It is easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but difficult to go from extravagant to frugal.

  This word applies to every little place in life.

  The twilight of the morning ushered in a new day. Li Dongyang didn't sleep all night, and his complexion was a little bad.

  It is called reading, but in fact, it shows worry.

  The situation in the palace is really strange. His Majesty has not summoned the ministers for many days.

  Even Li Dongyang doesn't know how His Majesty's dragon body is now.

  But since it was rumored that it was tuberculosis, the situation was already very bad.

  Now, His Majesty suddenly summoned the Zongwang and important ministers. What does this... mean?

  Now there are speculations in the public that His Majesty is critically ill, and the worst has already happened.

   Li Dongyang, as a cabinet scholar, said that he was not worried, that was a lie.

  He stayed up all night, speculating about various possibilities.

  By this time... it was dawn.

  Son Li Zhaofan saw that the study room was still on, so he came in hurriedly: "Father..."

  Li Dongyang nodded at him, saw Li Zhaofan's expression was different, and said, "Why, you don't seem to be in good spirits?"

   "This..." Li Zhaofan glanced at Li Dongyang's haggard face, and said with a wry smile: "Didn't father stay up all night, and he will enter the palace soon, can father's body bear it?"

  Li Dongyang's frown could not help but relax, and he smiled and said: "No problem, you can take a short nap in the car along the way."

   Li Zhaofan sighed: "Is my father worried about His Majesty's affairs?"

   "People are born, old, sick, and dying. His Majesty is in power, and he has a feeling of supporting and supporting this old man. His holy grace is as important as Mount Tai. Alas...it's a pity, a pity, but...now is not the time to worry about these things. The old man is worried about the crown prince."

  Li Zhaofan raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "Prince?"

  Li Dongyang has no taboos in front of his own son, and said bluntly: "If your Majesty really has an accident, the crown prince will be enthroned, but the recent situation in Beijing is really strange."

  Li Zhaofan said: "Could it be that father also heard the news that some clansmen in Beijing are dissatisfied?"

  Li Dongyang smiled and said: "It seems that they are not very careful in their actions, and everyone in the capital knows it."

  Li Zhaofan also laughed: "That's right, if you don't keep secrets, you will lose your ministers, and if your ministers don't keep secrets, you will lose your body. But if you have ulterior motives but don't keep secrets, this is the way to kill. It can be seen that these people can't achieve great things."

  Li Dongyang restrained his smile, and said meaningfully: "But what if... they deliberately want to make everyone know?"

   Li Zhaofan said in shock: "Ah..."

   "The news coming out now is just the tip of the iceberg, but it is already scary." Li Dongyang paused, then smiled and said, "Do you remember Dong Zhongshu?"

   "Ah... this... No one who has read the book knows."

Li Dongyang said: "Dong Zhongshu suggested that Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty should respect Confucianism alone, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty adopted it. Since then, there will only be Confucianism in the world. This respect for Confucianism is not only the integration of the world's knowledge, but its essence is that the books are the same. The cars are on the same track, and even knowledge is fixed in one, so that the emperor can hold the power, and no one else can covet the power."

  Li Zhaofan nodded, but did not understand what Li Dongyang meant.

Li Dongyang immediately said: "This is where the problem lies. But if the emperor monopolizes power, it seems that there is no one to check and balance. Therefore, Dong Zhongshu also proposed the theory of interaction between heaven and man, which not only added legitimacy to the emperor, but also caused another problem. , since everything comes from the original intention of heaven, and the son of heaven is the son of heaven, then if there is a vision in heaven, such as the collapse of the earth, or a catastrophe, then... how to explain it? These ministers who have read poetry and books advocated One method is called a catastrophe, which is a warning from heaven to the emperor. Whenever there is a catastrophe, the emperor must be wrong. The emperor should reflect on his mistakes and correct his mistakes in administration.”

  Li Zhaofan nodded thoughtfully, but...still puzzled.

When Li Dongyang said this, he couldn't help laughing: "These courtiers who have read poetry and books think that they are perfect. The emperor is in power, and he is ordered by the sky. He also sends out warnings at any time. Given the warning, how to interpret it?"

  Li Zhaofan thought for a while: "How to interpret, of course, is in the hands of those who have read poetry and books."

"Yes." Li Dongyang said: "Whoever has read a lot of books, who is in his position, who is the prime minister, has the right to explain the warning from heaven, so he can use the reasons from heaven to point out the fault of the emperor. In this way, you can By relying solely on Confucianism, one can control hundreds of officials; ministers can use the induction between heaven and man to check and balance the emperor at the same time, and the person who can come up with this set of Confucian methods is really unpredictable."

  Li Zhaofan nodded like a chicken pecking at rice: "Dong Gong and all the sages are indeed beyond the reach of future generations."

Li Dongyang waved his hand and said calmly: "You and my father and son shut the door, so there is no need to talk about these nerds. Later, this set of checks and balances of heaven and man was broken by the emperor's backhand. How to break it? , Yi Er, God is angry, a catastrophe occurs, the emperor made a mistake, then the emperor must correct it, how to correct it...remove the prime minister!"

   Li Zhaofan looked confused, thinking about it carefully...it really is.

Li Dongyang said: "God warns once and replaces one. When God is angry, he can't let the emperor be punished, but the prime minister is the executor of the emperor's administration. Since it is said that the emperor is at fault for the natural phenomenon, it is very reasonable to replace the prime minister." Well, the emperor realized his mistake. In this way, the so-called interaction between heaven and man became a joke. It is no longer the emperor who is most afraid of the wrath of heaven, but these officials who have read poems and books and are the heads of the officials. Boss, since then, no one has casually linked the natural phenomenon with the emperor's fault. If the prime minister confesses the emperor's fault in a letter, isn't he asking for trouble? If the ministers below write a letter, won't they Do you have trouble with the prime minister?"

Speaking of this, Li Dongyang smiled: "So, the crux of the problem lies in this. Being a father is also a prime minister. I know that the world is determined by the emperor alone, and the emperor's happiness and anger are fundamental. So these years, I have worked hard for my father and for my majesty. Fortunately, His Majesty is considered a wise man. As a father, he has never made any mistakes. Now these clansmen want to take the opportunity to make trouble, whether it is to use the theory of the relationship between heaven and man to make a far-fetched conclusion, or to use the method of the ancestors For the Son of Heaven, it can only be broken in an instant, and their life and death, honor and disgrace, are all in the Son of Heaven's thought. Thinking about it, they understand this truth very well, but...why do they dare to make such a mistake?"

Li Dongyang asked himself and answered: "I want to come... They want to seize the moment when His Majesty is critically ill. The emperor is most afraid of accidents at this moment. Anything that may happen is extremely terrible. It is related to the death of the father." Ziji... can't be negligent in the slightest. The Zongwangs are taking a risky move when they attack at this time."

  Li Zhaofan nodded, sighed, and said, "Yes, father thinks His Majesty will give in."

"The current emperor is very discerning. Even if he is seriously ill, he may not fulfill their wishes. As for His Royal Highness, although he is in the temple, there are different praises and criticisms, but among the people, the common people treat him with respect. But I am grateful. I don’t worry about this for my father... This is what I have thought about for my father, but I can’t figure it out. If these kings have a heart, they should know that it is not easy for them to achieve things! But why bother? Take a risk."

  As if awakened by a single word, Li Zhaofan said in surprise: "Could it be...Could it be...Father, could it be that they still have a move?"

   "That's right." Li Dongyang sighed: "What this old man is thinking about is what is the trump card behind them, and whether it can force His Majesty to make up his mind..."

   Li Zhaofan couldn't wait to continue asking: "Did Father think of it?"

   "Think about it." Li Dongyang got up, it was getting late, and he had to enter the palace as soon as possible: "After thinking about it, their only method is to cook raw rice."

   "Cook raw rice into cooked rice?"

Li Dongyang took a look at Li Zhaofan and sighed: "Zhaofan, although I entered the cabinet as my father, I have nothing to pass on to you in this life. Let me leave one thing for you today. If you take it firmly, it will last forever in this life. , so that you can live comfortably and not embarrass your ancestors."

   Li Zhaofan looked at Li Dongyang, blinked, and asked in puzzlement, "I don't know what it is?"

   "Favour, a favor for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Duke of Qi, you have to make them owe you this favor."

Then, Li Dongyang smiled and said: "It's getting late, hurry up, you go to Xishan Academy in person, Qi Guogong is probably about to enter the palace at this time, you have to stop him at least halfway, tell him, let him Send more guards to protect, not only that, Xishan Academy must also take precautions... Otherwise, a catastrophe will come."

As Li Dongyang said, he squinted his eyes, and a complex light flashed in his eyes, and said with a deep meaning: "Father, I am leaving, today... will be a long day, I hope... can be safe and sound." Things are going well."

  Li Zhaofan remembered his father's words with a serious face, did not dare to neglect, and hurried out.

  He went all the way to the west mountain, halfway, he saw Fang Jifan's chariots and horses coming towards him.

  He yelled: "Qi Guogong, Qi Guogong... My surname is Li, and my father taboos Dongyang, so I have something important to tell you!"

  (end of this chapter)