Chapter 159: The fire is boiling inside, the cold and heat are fighting

After a few days of intense debate, the Rain Water solar term had arrived unknowingly.

Although spring has not yet arrived in the north at this time of year, it is finally no longer snowing heavily.

The snow in the Forbidden City gradually melted, and the city became a little cooler.

When the weather is nice, it's a good time to sit around the fire and make tea.

Zhu Yijun ran to Yuanxi Yannian Hall early in the morning and when he greeted Empress Dowager Li, she immediately kept him there and asked him to chat with the relatives.

That is, Li Wenquan and his son, and Li Caiyun.

Li Chengming sat with one buttock awkwardly in the position, moving and changing his posture from time to time, grinning.

Finally, he simply stood up and served tea and water to the king, father and elders.

Empress Dowager Li glared at Li Chengming and then looked at her brother Li Wenquan: "Brother, Chengming is already nineteen years old this year, it's time for him to get married, don't be impatient."

Li Caiyun nodded in agreement and looked at Li Wenquan: "Brother, the Queen Mother is right. When we were young, anyone in our village who was not married by the age of 19 would be criticized behind their backs."

She is four years older than Empress Dowager Li and is already thirty-four years old this year. She is also the elder who likes to urge people to get married the most.

Li Wenquan looked at the emperor with his peripheral vision, and said calmly, "Empress Dowager, we just met with the two families at the end of last year. After a while, we will be able to decide."

Li Chengming looked a little embarrassed and looked at the emperor for help.

Zhu Yijun turned a blind eye, rubbed the teacup back and forth in his hands to warm them, and curiously asked, "Why haven't I heard my cousin mention it? I wonder what kind of family it is?"

Li Wenquan has been hanging around in the Central Military Governor's Office for two years, and he has become a lot more noble.

He looked at the emperor with a reserved but warm look and replied, "Your Majesty, they are not wealthy families. One family is the daughter of a scholar, and their most recent ancestor was only a county magistrate. The other family is the daughter of a merchant, who was acquired by a sea merchant two years ago. They both look nice, and their fathers are kind-hearted."

Zhu Yijun nodded and did not express any objection.

He was quite supportive of this. Although he actively embraced political affairs, it was better for these relatives to stay away from each other.

Especially Li Chengming, who went to build a shrine for Wei Zhongxian, obviously had a poor political sense and was not able to handle these things.

At this time, Empress Dowager Li took a sip of tea and said, "If I look at it again, I'm afraid another year has passed. Do you still want to get married at the age of 20? In my opinion, it's better to get married as soon as possible. It's the greatest pity to have no offspring."

Li Wenquan looked down and saw the emperor's feet shrink back nervously. He immediately changed his words when he was about to say something: "Marriage is a big deal, take it slow."

Empress Dowager Li wanted to speak more.

Zhu Yijun quickly interrupted and said, "My uncle just mentioned the maritime merchants. I'd like to talk to him about this matter so that I can discuss the bride price for my cousin."

"In addition to the government-run grain transport along the coast, the various departments will gradually open up to private chambers of commerce in the next six months. After autumn, they will be able to obtain licenses."

"Uncle, you better put up the shelf as soon as possible."

Although it will take more than two years for Zhu Heng to reorganize the flight routes, the licenses can be issued first.

After one year, the section from Nanzhili to Tianjin will be opened up, which will be enough for domestic trade.

Regardless of whether it generates income or not, the king and father are mainly doing this for the good of the Chamber of Commerce, so they have to arrange things like goods and sales in advance.

Of course, there is another point.

As the route is being repaired, there will definitely be some monsters and flies buzzing around from time to time.

If you issue the licenses first, people will naturally unite - capital is already a step forward for conservative feudal forces.

After hearing this, Li Wenquan quickly stood up, stepped aside and thanked him: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand, indicating that he should sit down and talk.

Li Wenquan sat down and said, "Your Majesty, let's not talk about going to sea for now."

"This coastal shipping has a story from the pre-Song Dynasty, so all the families are quite active. Currently, Duke Wei, Duke Ying, Earl Pingjiang, Marquis Dingyuan, Grand Princess, Wang Chonggu's family, Xu Guo's family... are all interested in partnering to do this."

"Now people are talking about whether we can follow the route that the Canal Transport Office tried out for sea transport last year and give it a try."

Talking about business, Empress Dowager Li no longer dwelled on what had just happened, and instead focused her attention on the so-called maritime merchants - Empress Dowager Li was still very supportive of finding a legitimate source of income for her natal family.

She asked curiously, "Didn't they say that the ship at Qingjiang Shipyard will be built next year? What can we use to test it now?"

Li Wenquan hesitated to speak.

Zhu Yijun was not shy about it: "Mother, the imperial court's maritime ban is only strict for the upper echelons, and the private manufacturing and smuggling of goods below have never stopped, but they just claim to have stopped it to the outside world."

"That's why, when the sea was opened during the Longqing period, people eagerly went to the private sector to buy ships."

Empress Dowager Li said, "It seems that you can still make money."

It's not like the Chamber of Commerce would take the risk just to lose money.

Zhu Yijun thought for a moment, looked at Li Wenquan and said, "You can't go north through Taicang and Jiading. There are many rivers and mountains over there, so it's impossible for foreign ships to pass."

"Well, let's go east from Huai'an, lead the way to Denglai and then to Tianjin."

He paused and emphasized again: "Safety comes first."

Why is it easier to go along the coast than to go out to sea? Because you can stop at ports frequently.

But the East China Sea is vast and mountainless, and it is inaccessible, so the requirements for ships are high.

It’s a good thing the boat didn’t capsize, but I’m worried that someone might have died.

Li Wenquan quickly agreed.

While the little emperor was interrupting, Empress Dowager Li no longer talked about marriage.

He talked about this and that and told the emperor about moving the palace.

In fact, since the Lantern Festival, some unimportant things in the Western Garden have been moved back to the Forbidden City one after another.

Now, it’s time for the three saints to go back.

Zhu Yijun thought about it, and nodded helplessly: "I will go to see if the Ciqing Palace has been repaired properly later. If there is no problem, we will set off."

The repairs have definitely been completed, it was completed in August, but I haven’t seen it with my own eyes.

Besides, the house has just been renovated, so isn’t it reasonable to leave it alone for half a year?

We can’t blame Zhu Yijun for delaying.

Mainly, whether the office is located in a building complex or near mountains and water, the experience can be completely different.

The greening of the Forbidden City is really not good!

Having said this, Zhu Yijun also had an excuse to leave.

He looked at Empress Dowager Li and said, "I will go to Qianguang Palace to pay my respects to you. I will also visit Ciqing Palace on the way so that we can move to the palace earlier. Do you want to come with me, mother?"

Empress Dowager Li pursed her lips and rolled her eyes: "I won't go. The father-in-law will have to enter the palace later."

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but complain when he saw this, saying that she was already thirty years old, but still acting like a little girl.

While thinking about it, he stood up and bowed respectfully, then turned around and left Yuanxi Yannian Hall.

……

As soon as Zhu Yijun came out of the hall, he saw Hanlin editor Deng Yizan standing straight, waiting outside the hall with Zhang Hong on his left and right.

When the two saw the emperor coming out, they immediately stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun looked at Deng Yizan strangely: "Isn't Mr. Deng's duty scheduled for tomorrow? Where is Shen Li?"

The rotation must also be in accordance with the Basic Law.

Deng Yizan heard this and replied, "Your Majesty, a few days ago, there was a cold snap in spring. With the sudden change in temperature, Shen accidentally caught a cold and became ill. He has not gotten better since then and can no longer get out of bed."

"I just couldn't bear it today, so I asked you to take over."

Zhang Hong, who was standing by, took out a memorial from his sleeve, presented it with both hands, and said briefly: "Your Majesty, Shen Li requests to retire due to illness."

Zhu Yijun was stunned for a moment, then took it subconsciously.

Since he ascended the throne, he had seen too many officials shouting that they wanted to retire. This was the first time he had encountered someone who was so ill that he wanted to retire. He felt a little uncomfortable for a while.

Zhu Yijun opened Shen Li's memorial.

The font was quite crooked, obviously due to the weak handwriting.

Shen Li's writing is excellent and easy to read.

Zhu Yijun was immersed in it subconsciously as he read along, muttering to himself: "One bone is empty, the body and soul are separated, the speech is disordered, the feet cannot stand on the ground, and I groan and cry day and night..."

"I went to see a doctor and felt his pulse. He said that it was due to excessive internal heat, exhaustion of the heart and spleen, alternation of cold and heat, and the disappearance of muscles. Now I am as thin as a stick, with only one breath left, and I am dying."

This is written... Zhu Yijun couldn't bear to read on after seeing this.

He closed the memorial silently.

He knew that Shen Li was in poor health, so he asked for leave to return to his hometown in the first year of Longqing. Especially since he got married, he gave birth to more than a dozen children, most of whom died young, and only two daughters survived. It can be seen that the quality of his sperm was not very good.

Things have come to this point, and Zhu Yijun can't force him to stay.

Zhu Yijun sighed and told Zhang Hong: "There is no need to retire. Just give me sick leave and come back when you are well."

After that, he looked at Deng Yizan again and said earnestly: "When you have free time on weekdays, you should strengthen your body and take care of your body."

Shen Li is not the only one in poor health.

There are also Zhang Juzheng, Chen Dong, and Yu Youding. They either suffered from congenital malnutrition or took tonic medicine indiscriminately, and were extremely weak. They either had lung disease due to cold or heatstroke or heart disease.

Let’s not talk about exercising, but just some conditioning will do.

Deng Yizan is short and not in good health. He is one of those people who often takes leave due to illness.

Seeing the emperor say this, he had no choice but to stand and accept the training silently.

Zhu Yijun had expressed himself enough and stopped talking. He waved his hand and said, "Let Wang Jiaping take Shen Li's place and serve in Wenhua Palace."

In fact, from a political perspective, Xu Guo would be more suitable.

But Xu Guo had a very heavy accent, and when he read the test papers to the emperor, he could rank the candidates one of the top 100.

If he spends the whole day talking about "my child" in Wenhua Hall, I'm afraid Xiong Dunpu would be second.

Deng Yizan remembered it in his heart and replied, "I obey your order."

Zhu Yijun nodded, and gave some instructions to Zhang Hong. In addition to giving him travel expenses and gifts, and ordering him to return home by express post, he also brought a message to visit and comfort and encourage Shen Li.

The group was talking about business as they walked towards Empress Dowager Chen's bedroom in Qianguang Hall.

Zhu Yijun walked in front and said without turning his head: "I have something important to do in the next few days, please tell me, Lord Deng."

There is a word called increasing day by day.

Zhu Yijun felt that this was the trend of his political affairs, which were getting more and more day by day.

It has now reached the point where it might be missed without someone reminding you.

This was the duty of the Wanshou Palace, so Deng Yizan had already prepared a plan: "Your Majesty, the first thing we should do is to attend the noon court ceremony at Huangji Gate on the third day of the second month, as recommended by the Prime Minister."

Zhu Yijun nodded.

He still remembers this.

The noon court ceremony at Huangji Gate was a grand ceremony for receiving local officials, and was also Zhang Juzheng's first face-saving project of the new year. This was a good habit left by Taizu, to inquire about the sufferings of the people, but it was abandoned after the Hongzhi period.

The Prime Minister said that the current emperor is a man of divine wisdom and has worked hard to govern the country, and he has finally achieved something. He must show it to the local officials and elders. This is called demonstrating the majesty of heaven, showing his virtue and honor.

Of course, Qi Jiguang was among them.

Deng Yizan continued, "The second is Gu Huan's memorial. After the court discussed it, three of the six points were approved, and the remaining three were rejected."

"There is some debate. The cabinet asks Your Majesty to attend the morning court session."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yijun fell into deep thought.

He also read the six items. The first one said that the Beijing Camp now only practiced archery on foot, and hoped to add archery on horseback; the third was to teach firearms; the sixth said that the official troops of the Four Guards and the Second Battalion would protect the Imperial Palace, and would no longer rotate with other units in the future. Only people would be eliminated without replacing the entire unit.

These three items were agreed to, while the other three were rejected, such as verifying the military ranks and training and gathering the servants of the generals.

The debate was indeed quite controversial, and both the Beijing Army and the Ministry of War had some opinions. However...

After a while, Zhu Yijun shook his head and said, "I won't go. Let Gu Huan fight for it."

Isn't the purpose of letting Gu Huan go to court to allow the Beijing camp to have a say?
You can't always take the lead, can you?

Deng Yizan did not ask any more questions and continued, "The third one is the envoy of the King of Shunyi, the leader of the Jurchen barbarians, and the envoys from Korea and Ryukyu who came to pay tribute. They each offered a lot of gold and silver. They hope to meet Your Majesty and make a report in court to show the friendship between the two sides."

Zhu Yijun did not answer immediately.

Instead, he asked an irrelevant question: "What is the name of the Jurchen leader?"

He looked at Deng Yizan. Could it be...

Deng Yizan recalled for a moment and replied: "Haixi Zhela and other female governors of Wei, Asibu, and Bingtalu and other female governors of Wei, Longbu, assistant governors."

Well, never heard of it.

Zhu Yijun shook his head: "The barbarians are ugly, and I am still young, and my sleep is not deep, so I still disappeared."

Deng Yizan was about to respond calmly before he realized what the emperor was saying.

He opened his mouth, then finally closed it and nodded.

"In addition, there is a letter of impeachment from Li Zaiting, the left councilor of Fujian."

Zhu Yijun cast an inquiring look at Deng Yizan.

The impeachment process is to not bring it to the emperor's attention.

Deng Yizan paused and told the whole story: "After Li Canzheng took office, he found out that the former governor of Nangan, Lu Wen, had used more than 5,650 taels of tax silver."

"In addition to the 1,399 taels of silver for the construction of the archway and other public expenses, the gift to Master Yan is 4,250 taels of silver."

Lu Wen? This happened in the 40th year of the Jiajing reign!

Bringing up old issues is a big taboo in official circles.

Has Li Zaiting become so ignorant?
Deng Yizan continued, "Some officials from the Fujian Provincial Government were involved, and each of them had their own opinions."

"Also, Councillor Li took advantage of the night when no one was on duty to rob the treasury of the Provincial Government. Fujian Left Councillor Cha Zhili impeached Councillor Li for this matter."

"In addition, there were also memorials from officials impeaching Li Canzheng for colluding with the military commander Yu Dayou and for overstepping his authority."

Zhu Yijun understood as soon as he heard it. It was another classic piece of officialdom.

As soon as they take office, they fight for the purse strings.

However, this guy Cha Zhili was the left-wing councilor of Henan Province last year. He was impeached by Liang Menglong on the grounds of corruption and was sent to Fujian. He is still not behaving himself now, right?

As for Yu Dayou...

Zhu Yijun asked curiously, "How do you collude?"

Deng Yizan hesitated for a moment before speaking, "It is said that Minister Li moved into Governor Yu's residence, and the memorial also said that the two of them slept with their feet touching, and that they were fellow travelers who played with the beautiful maid together."

"But the latter is obviously fabricated, and the memorial has been rejected by the cabinet."

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but sigh, he really knows how to use words, he really has to admire him.

He said casually: "Let the cabinet handle it."

Deng Yizan nodded upon hearing this.

His tone was a little lighter, and he ended: "That's all. In addition, there are the agenda and papers of the imperial examination, the debates in the Tongzhengsi newspaper, the personnel appointments of the Ministry of Personnel, the rewards for the Duman victory, etc."

The group was not far from Qianguang Palace.

Along the way, one could see many eunuchs and female officials carrying things towards the Forbidden City.

Obviously it was in preparation for moving the palace.

Zhu Yijun walked in front, waving his arms, and finally started gossiping: "Speaking of newspaper debates, I remember that Mr. Deng was a disciple of Wang Xue of Jiangyou?"

This is the value of psychology.

From the former chief minister, to the current second-in-command and group ministers, to the secretary of the Secretariat and the editor of the Hanlin Academy, they all have disciples everywhere.

Deng Yizan knew what the emperor wanted to ask, so he said frankly, "I am sorry to trouble your majesty. I am indeed a disciple of Wang Men, but I don't know what Jiangyou Wang Men is."

Zhu Yijun reacted and laughed: "I was talking about which school you studied."

Deng Yizan laughed at himself and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this is exactly the theory of neither good nor evil that Mr. Gu denounced as empty and Lord Li disdained."

When the debate started, Gu Xiancheng was already respected as a king because of his knowledge, and Li Zhi was even more so known as a gentleman.

Zhu Yijun couldn't help but joked: "You are quite frank. You took the initiative to bring it up after being scolded."

Deng Yizan finally calmed down and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I think that learning is not done by heaven, not done by earth, not done by saints, so why should we care about what others say."

Zhu Yijun looked at Deng Yizan's expression and inexplicably felt a sense of emotion.

He is worthy of being a Confucian scholar who ranked first in the provincial examination and third in the palace examination.

The deeper your knowledge, the harder it is to be shaken by your own ideas.

Even though Li Zhi brought up the powerful weapon of universal values, Deng Yizan brushed it off with a casual remark that he was not studying for the sake of being a saint, and it was obvious that he really did not take it to heart.

Zhu Yijun walked in front without looking back: "Then, Mr. Deng, who do you study for?"

Deng Yizan couldn't see the emperor's expression, but he felt that his tone was not good.

He seemed unaware, and answered seriously as always: "Your Majesty, learning is naturally done for oneself."

"I believe that the essence of the mind lies in following its original nature."

"The beginning is when all worries are forgotten. When you are suddenly touched and respond to something, it is pure nature. Once the mind moves, the second and third thoughts will follow. Even worse, when this thought is just beginning, the second and third thoughts will appear at the same time. Both the subsequent and the simultaneous thoughts are not the beginning."

“So my relatives are my loved ones, but if I think that I should love them too much, then it is not right; my elders are my respected ones, but if I think that I should respect them too much, then it is not right.”

"When one is rich, being more humble is the same as being arrogant; when one is drunk, being more respectful is the same as being disorderly."

"Why? The heart that follows others is the heart of others, which is what is called succession and integration."

“The origin of this mind is not bound by a square or a body, nor does it fall into calculation. It goes away and comes back suddenly. It sees what is ahead but not what is behind. It knows one thing but not both. That’s all.”

“This is what is called the beginning.”

"Gu Xiancheng wants to save the world by talking about morality, while Li Zhi wants to seize the orthodoxy and talk about universalism. I do not agree with either of them..."

"I have only drawn a circle on the ground as a prison, with myself as the corner."

"Your Majesty, I am a real person."

This is the theory of neither good nor evil criticized by Gu Xiancheng. Everything must be traced back to the origin. All acquired ideas are false and obscure the mind.

At the same time, he is also the most authentic and self-centered person.

After Deng Yizan spoke, the little emperor did not respond for a long time.

The former is neither sad nor happy, just waiting quietly.

After a while, the emperor slowly turned around, but to Deng Yizan's surprise, the little emperor actually had an admiring look on his face.

Zhu Yijun looked at Deng Yizan and nodded in approval, "What a self, what a real person."

“I just hope Deng Qing can find his original intention in the future.”

Little Deng was not tall, and after hearing this, he wondered if the emperor was being sarcastic to him.

Little did people know that Zhu Yijun was not speaking in a sarcastic way, but he was very satisfied with the current status of Li Zhi's move.

Li Zhi's theory of universal morality was born under his influence, and naturally contains some elements of stitching.

Everything has to be looked at dialectically, and suturing naturally has its drawbacks.

Although this doctrine has rational enlightenment significance for the modern reconstruction of Chinese philosophy, it also has a tendency to undermine tradition.

The universalist cultural stance constructed by universal morality based on objectivity and externality is a kind of cultural hegemony for modern Confucianism.

I'm not sure about this.

It will completely obscure the subjective introspective vision and spiritual transcendence vision of traditional culture.

What follows is that self-cultural consciousness is cut off, and cultural genealogical identity gives way to external judgment.

This means going from one extreme to another.

But looking at Deng Yizan's reaction now, it is obvious that the timing is just right.

Moderation is good, and letting a hundred flowers bloom is good.

I just hope that this medicine can really spark out the philosophical self of China.

……

"You went to Ciqing Palace?"

Zhu Yijun and his group finally reached the Qianguang Hall, but unexpectedly found it empty.

Who knew that Empress Dowager Chen actually went to Ciqing Palace.

Zhang Hong carefully summarized the news he had just reported, "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager asked Miss Li to move back to Ciqing Palace a few years ago to take care of things for the Empress Dowager, so that she could build up some popularity before the Empress moved to another palace."

"Unfortunately, Miss Li fell ill last night, and the Queen Mother went to Ciqing Palace to take care of her early in the morning."

Zhu Yijun shook his head.

This is just nonsense.

He shook his head: "Let's go, it's a good opportunity to go to Ciqing Palace for a visit."

The group then went to Ciqing Palace.

Since Zhu Yijun ascended the throne, he rarely went to Ciqiong Palace, and after a fire, he never visited it again.

But there is no need to worry about the craftsmanship of the craftsmen.

The rebuilt Ciqing Palace is almost identical to what it was before the fire.

The only difference is that it is brand new and a lot brighter.

The emperor should be happy with such good craftsmanship.

But Zhang Hong looked at the emperor's gloomy face cautiously, not understanding what had happened.

Is it because Miss Li is sick?
Or is it that the rebuilt Ciqing Palace has a different structure from the Eastern Palace in this gentleman's impression?
Time passes slowly.

The emperor stood outside the Ciqing Palace, neither leaving nor going in.

He had been standing there examining it for quite a while, but his expression was becoming more and more ugly.

Zhang Hong didn't understand what was going on, so he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, is there something wrong?"

Zhu Yijun stood by a wall, stretched out his five fingers and wiped it, twisting it between his fingers.

He looked at Zhang Hong, unable to make out his tone, and frowned as he said, "I remember that according to the regulations of the Forbidden City, the inner walls should be made of red clay."

There are many places in the Forbidden City that use red, and there are regulations on what materials should be used in what places.

Zhang Hong had no idea about engineering issues, and had no idea what the emperor meant.

I had to carefully choose the rules and said, "Your Majesty, we should use red clay, but sometimes we will use other materials to speed up the work or for other reasons. There will be no cutting corners in the reconstruction of Ciqing Palace this time."

Zhu Yijun wiped his fingers on Zhang Hong's clothes and nodded: "I believe this."

"After all, cinnabar is more expensive than red clay."

Zhu Yijun looked up at the newly built Ciqing Palace.

The cinnabar covering the wall is more dazzling and beautiful than the red clay.

(End of this chapter)