"Grandpa Emperor, I'm going to school." Zhu Yijun turned around and said.
"Okay, come back after school. Grandpa will be waiting for you to have lunch together." Emperor Jiajing waved his hand and stood at the door of the palace with his hands in his sleeves, just like an ordinary grandfather sending his grandson to school.
Emperor Jiajing loved his grandson Zhu Yijun and attached great importance to his education.
A place was found near the Xi'an Gate of Xiyuan to be used as a study, and several learned scholars from the Hanlin Academy were selected as professors, who took turns to teach Zhu Yijun every morning.
Zhu Yijun walked in the alley, feeling relaxed and happy.
The two swords that were swung at Yan Song this morning were full of murderous intent, and achieved the desired effect. The key was that he could use this as an excuse to win over Hu Zongxian.
Hu Zongxian was promoted by Yan Song's adopted son Zhao Wenhua. He belonged to the Yan Party, but was not a core member of the Party.
They should be called pragmatists.
They hope to govern the country and benefit the world, and they have the ability to govern the country, and they can do practical things and are willing to do practical things. But they also know that it is difficult to do things in this world, and it is even more difficult to do practical things that benefit the country and the people.
They could only rely on Yan Song, depend on Yan's party, dance with shackles, and do some practical work with difficulty.
Because they were actually doing things, it was easy to be caught, so the clean stream headed by the "Prince Yu Party" often used attacking them as a breakthrough point when they were doing their best to overthrow the Yan Party.
In order to protect themselves, the Yan Party would sometimes push them out as scapegoats.
Zhu Yijun didn't want this to happen again.
The Emperor has been in power for more than 30 years, and the political atmosphere in the court is very unhealthy. There are only a few people left who can do practical work. If they are removed by the clean officials, there will be no one left to use.
This morning, he used the power of others to severely trick Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan, and then took advantage of the "promising" new source of money, the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office, to keep the emperor hanging and save Hu Zongxian.
Eradicating the Japanese invasion is now the emperor's biggest excuse for making money.
The tax revenue from maritime merchants was one million taels, 500,000 taels were given to the Japanese invaders for suppressing the Japanese, and the emperor got 500,000 taels. It was reasonable.
Among all the ministers in the court, only Hu Zongxian could eliminate the Japanese invasion cleanly and efficiently. It would be difficult to explain if the money was divided but the Japanese invasion was not eliminated.
Therefore, the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office, the Southeast Japanese invasion, Hu Zongxian, and the pragmatic faction of the Yan Party were all connected by a thread.
The Emperor would never allow this line to be cut off by anyone, because that would cut off his source of income!
Once the Southeast Anti-Japanese Food and Pay Coordination Office is established, he can legitimately recruit pragmatists such as Hu Zongxian and have his own first team in the outer court.
It makes me happy just thinking about it.
"Little Erlang, carrying his schoolbag on his back, goes to school, not afraid of wind or rain." Zhu Yijun hummed a school song he composed and walked proudly in front.
Feng Bao followed closely behind him with four eunuchs.
Feng Bao was waiting outside the palace gate during the drama that took place this morning. He heard and saw it all. Although he still couldn't figure out the twists and turns involved, he only felt that Yan Song and his son were in trouble this time, and that the Crown Prince played an important role in it.
Without showing any emotion, he lightly kicked Yan Ge Lao and his son, who had been fought against by countless upright ministers for more than 20 years but had failed to be defeated, into a pit.
Feng Bao's heart was almost filled with awe.
When he arrived at the school gate, Zhu Yijun stopped.
Feng Bao immediately stepped forward, tidied his clothes to keep him clean, and took a book from the eunuch and presented it to Zhu Yijun.
"Sir, today Mr. Zhang is going to lecture on the Analects."
"The Analects is great. It contains the words of a sage."
Zhu Yijun walked into the school. Standing at the top of the table was a man in his thirties, wearing a green robe and a square scarf on his head. He was handsome, resolute, and had a sharp gaze.
"Student Zhu Yijun greets teacher Mr. Zhang."
Today's professor is Zhang Juzheng, a lecturer at the Hanlin Academy, who specializes in lecturing on The Analects.
There were two other teachers: Pan Jixun, the Inspector of Shuntian Prefecture, who taught "Thousand Character Classic" and "Records of the Grand Historian"; and Li Chunfang, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, who was Zhu Yijun's "Dean of Academic Affairs" and also explained poetry and policy essays.
Zhang Juzheng nodded, "Hello, my lord. Please take a seat."
When Zhu Yijun sat down, he said, "Today we continue to read the Analects of Confucius. Confucius said, 'Governing with virtue is like the North Star, which stays in its place and all the stars revolve around it.'
What the sage meant by this sentence is that if you govern the country with benevolence, you will be like the North Star, safely in your own position, with all the other stars orbiting around it.
Zhu Yijun nodded, "Student knows that Confucius meant to govern the country with virtue and courtesy."
"Then do you have any other insights?"
Zhu Yijun tilted his head in thought, and Zhang Juzheng looked at him nervously, full of anticipation.
Child prodigy!
He called himself the Jiangling Prodigy, but compared with the Crown Prince, there was still a gap. He could recite poems and classics by heart, and he had his own opinions and said things that made people's eyes light up.
The most important thing is that he was deeply loved by the emperor and was once called the good holy grandson in front of all the ministers.
The last time it was called this was during the reign of Emperor Yongle.
Emperor Yongle loved his grandson Zhu Zhanji very much and called him a good saintly grandson.
Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi was not liked by Emperor Yongle, but because of his legitimate son Zhu Zhanji, his position as crown prince was very stable.
The same principle applies now. The more the emperor likes the Crown Prince, his legitimate grandson, the more secure Prince Yu's position as crown prince will be.
Zhu Yijun replied slowly, "Governing with virtue, in my opinion, the key lies in self-cultivation and inner pursuit. The king seeks inner pursuit to manifest virtue, and then benefits and pacifies the people. If self-cultivation has results, it will naturally attract other people of the same path, and form a common cause."
Zhang Juzheng nodded repeatedly. Although it was still a little superficial, it was very rare for an eight-year-old child.
"Teacher, are there more gentlemen or villains in this world?"
Zhang Juzheng was speechless for a moment and could only ask back: "What do you think, my lord?"
"I think that most people have their own emotions and desires. But the harm caused by villains is much greater than the blessings brought by gentlemen. Gentlemen are more focused on self-cultivation, while villains are keen on harming others for their own benefit."
Zhang Juzheng was helpless as the prince started to act weird again and said some "heresy".
"I think that some scholars who keep saying they can win people over with virtue are actually asking others to be gentlemen, and they like to behave like villains."
A torrent surged in Zhang Juzheng's chest, and he tightly grasped the ruler in his right hand.
If he were an ordinary student, he would have smashed his palms long ago.
Nonsense, is this how you understand the teachings of the saints?
But Zhang Juzheng didn't dare to do so now, because the student Zhu Yijun in front of him had his grandfather's protection.
His grandfather was Emperor Jiajing.
Who among the civil and military officials in the court was not afraid of this capricious, deep-minded, and vicious emperor?
Zhang Juzheng suppressed his anger and continued to explain the Analects.
An hour later, Zhang Juzheng pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and said, "Sir, please make a copy."
Just copy it.
Zhu Yijun took the pen and ink and started copying on a piece of white paper.
Zhang Juzheng walked back and forth with his hands behind his back, sighing for having done something that went against his conscience and morality.
This is a study note, which is a "reading note" of the part of the Analects explained today. The wording is immature and the sentence structure is not fully mature, which is in line with the level of an eight-year-old child.
But his words are meaningful and his insights are reasonable, with one or two shining golden sentences.
For the Jiangling prodigy, this kind of short essay was easy to write.
After copying it, Zhu Yijun handed it back to Zhang Juzheng.
Zhang Juzheng glanced at it and wrote a sentence on the margin of the paper: "The words are meaningful and the understanding is reasonable. Top."
After reviewing it, he handed it to Zhu Yijun and said, "This is the prince's study results today. Please present it to the emperor."
"Thank you, sir!" Zhu Yijun took it respectfully.
He knew that Zhang Juzheng did this just to maintain his image as a good grandson in front of his grandfather the Emperor, and to continue to consolidate his father's position as the crown prince.
Before leaving, Zhu Yijun seemed to remember, "Sir, this morning, the Governor-General of Zhili and Zhejiang, Hu Zongxian, met with the Emperor and talked about the suppression of the Japanese in the southeast. The Emperor praised him, saying that he was brave and did a good job in suppressing the Japanese. He asked Lord Yan to draft a reward for him."
Zhang Juzheng's expression changed slightly, and he bowed and said, "Go slowly, my lord."
Zhu Yijun saluted Zhang Juzheng and turned to leave.
Yan Song and his son are in danger, and the clean stream headed by Prince Yu's party is about to rise up. After being suppressed for so long, it is time to release their nature and let the court and the public know that there is still such a group of "loyal ministers" in the Ming Dynasty.
With so many more "loyal and devoted ministers" coming out to stir up trouble, the water in the court will become even more muddy, making it easier for him to fish in troubled waters.
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