Chapter 56: Cooking Gold and Jade, Exhausting All One’s Efforts

Outside Jingyun Gate, the training ground.

The afternoon is the time for learning archery, but Hai Rui was brought along today.

On a large open space, the disciples of the Beijing Guards Martial Arts School were performing hard, hoping to be like the lucky few before them, catch the emperor's eye and rise to fame overnight.

Horse riding, boxing, pulling the bow, and all kinds of self-expression are endless.

Seeing the emperor coming, these young men bowed to him one after another.

Zhu Yijun kindly asked them to continue, while he and Hai Rui stood in front of the Jingyun Gate.

He called a eunuch over and said, "Go, call the man over."

While the eunuch was away calling for help, Zhu Yijun explained to Hai Rui, "Each time my father thought about Xu Jie's matter, he regretted it."

"And he taught me again and again, but if there are similar things, I should take them as a warning."

"Your going to Lianghuai to collect taxes this time will definitely be more intense than Xu Jie's return to farming a few years ago."

At this point, Hai Rui immediately understood what the emperor was going to do.

He glanced at the training ground and hesitated: "Your Majesty loves me, and I am deeply grateful. But...is it a bit too much?"

The emperor set up a three-judicial department just for him.

He then drew a line under the hood and took on the most difficult nobles, royal relatives, and officials of the fourth rank and above.

He was also afraid that he might fail too easily, so he earnestly told him that he didn't have to try his best, and that if he could achieve 40% success, it would be a great achievement.

Having come this far, they still want to give Hai Rui a personal guard! ?

The king is the king and the father. Heaven and earth are the conscience. Hai Rui felt the father's love for the first time!

Zhu Yijun shook his head, saying, "Although I have never been to the place in person, I understand what 'civil uprising' and 'gathering' mean."

"Hai Qing, if you can't get it done once, you can always do it a second time or a third time."

"If you were to die in Lianghuai, I would be heartbroken."

Hai Rui remained silent.

But his thoughts had already drifted far away - this time, he really had no room for retreat.

The emperor said that even if he failed the first time, he could try again the second time and the third time. But Hai Rui asked himself, can he accept it?

He looked at the young emperor, his heart filled with emotion, feeling he had no way to repay him.

What big figures in Lianghuai, what high-ranking officials in Nanzhili, what royal relatives.

Hai Rui has now been tasked with obtaining Buddhist scriptures. On his journey to the West, he is determined to kill any god that stands in his way, and any Buddha that stands in his way!
The two stood there quietly, each with their own thoughts.

Soon, the eunuch brought in several people, and they all knelt down and saluted.

When Hai Rui saw several people kneeling on the ground to salute, he immediately knew that they were either nobles or military generals - civil officials would not kneel down in public like this.

He began to look at the people in front of him inconspicuously, secretly guessing their identities.

Fortunately, Zhu Yijun did not keep anyone in suspense. After asking everyone to excuse themselves, he began to introduce himself to Hai Rui separately.

"This is Jiao Ze, the deputy general of the Beijing Camp Governor Gu Huan." Zhu Yijun pointed at a man.

Nobles and military officials do not need to be so particular. There is no need to introduce courtesy names, and they may not even have one.

Hai Rui looked at the sturdy man in front of him and couldn't help but praise him in his heart.

"Next month, Jiao Ze will be transferred to the post of deputy commander of the grain transport, leading a battalion of 800 elite soldiers, and will accompany Hai Qing to Lianghuai to take up his post."

These eight hundred people were composed of Gu Huan's personal soldiers and the best fighters selected from the Beijing camp.

Although I only practiced for a month or so, the basic shape finally came out.

Of course, the point is that he was collecting money from people everywhere, and in the end he paid off the wages owed to these 800 people and gave them an extra two taels of silver as a reward.

According to Gu Chengguang, he had never seen soldiers training so hard.

After Jiao Ze saluted again, Zhu Yijun pointed at another person and introduced him to Hai Rui, "This is the deputy commander of the Jinyiwei, Gu Chengguang."

Hai Rui nodded again, feeling satisfied.

It was obvious at first glance that this burly Jinyiwei had experienced battles.

"Gu Zhihui Jianshi, bring 200 Jinyiwei as the personal guards of Governor Haiqing in Lianghuai."

The Embroidered Uniform Guards are different from the Soldiers.

There are many things that the Jinyiwei have no scruples about doing that the soldiers cannot do.

Gu Chengguang greeted Hai Rui.

"This is the champion of the Beijing Guards' martial arts this year, specially awarded to the Jinwu Guards, Luo Sigong. This is the son of the Earl of Pingjiang, Chen Yinzhao."

Zhu Yijun pointed at the two of them and spoke to Hai Rui.

Hai Rui skipped the former and glanced at the latter.

He smiled and said, "I just met this prince a few days ago."

Zhu Yijun was stunned.

He immediately realized that when he had promised Li Wei shipping, the father-in-law Li Wei had approached his relative-in-law, Pingjiang Bo, and said that they wanted to do this business together.

Then they each sent people to inspect the ports, acquire the dilapidated maritime merchant chambers of commerce, and so on.

I'm afraid the two met by chance when they returned to Beijing.

He waved his hand to ignore the matter and explained, "Luo Sigong is an extraordinary martial artist, so he is just the right person to protect Hai Qing."

Then he looked at Luo Sigong: "Make sure you don't leave."

Luo Sigong was only seventeen years old, but he was able to stand out from the Beijing Guards' martial arts. In addition to his martial arts, he was also quite intelligent.

He saluted and said: "I obey your order!"

Zhu Yijun added: "The commander-in-chief of the grain transport, Liang Jifan, the Marquis of Baoding, was impeached and retired. The current commander-in-chief of the grain transport is Chen Wangmo, the Earl of Pingjiang."

It was he who instigated the impeachment of Liang Jifan.

There is no way. The Marquis of Baoding is a relative of Empress Dowager Chen. When doing things now, he naturally has to be cautious and find someone more reliable.

Hai Rui understood everything immediately.

He was just wondering why he was assigned a prince with thin arms and legs as his personal guard.

It turns out that it is used to control the Earl of Pingjiang.

As a personal guard, he naturally had to stay by his side all the time. Once someone had ill intentions, the personal guards would be the first to bear the brunt. The Earl of Pingjiang would certainly not sit idly by.

Hai Rui was amazed again.

The young emperor has taken care of almost all possible problems.

A transfer was made.

There were a thousand soldiers who could personally command the army.

He also used the prince to control a commander-in-chief of the grain transport system and a noble uncle.

This Earl of Pingjiang once served in Guangdong and Guangxi, wearing armor himself. Later, when the bandit Zhang Lian rebelled, it was Chen Wangmo who personally went into battle and captured and killed more than 30,000 people before the rebellion was quelled.

These military heroes who have fought in the battlefield usually have some personal soldiers. Even if they cannot fully control the grain transport troops, they still have a good basic base.

In addition, the emperor also hinted to him that the governor, Wang Zongmu, would also fully support this matter - if he evaded the issue and was not satisfied, he could go to Earl Ding'an to suppress it.

Those who knew about this understood that it was to investigate corruption, while those who didn't thought it was a war.

After Zhu Yijun introduced several people one by one, he also reminded them to obey Hai Qing's orders and not to be arrogant and domineering.

Only then let people leave.

Hai Rui suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "Does the cabinet know about your majesty's arrangement?"

According to his understanding.

The affairs of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are easy to arrange.

But the rest should be difficult to handle.

Jiao Ze was originally the deputy general of the Beijing camp. Now that he has been transferred to the commander-in-chief of the grain transport system, he must pass the review of the Ministry of War.

It seems simple to have Wang Xijue, the assistant minister of the Southern Zhili Ministry of Justice, cooperate with him, but it also requires the Northern Zhili Ministry of Justice to agree to delegate power.

Not to mention, Chen Dong, the Shaoqing of the Dali Temple, a fourth-rank official of the same rank as himself, was sent to accompany him to Lianghuai, which was somewhat unusual.

He really didn't know how the emperor convinced the cabinet and the six ministries.

Zhu Yijun suddenly turned his head and looked at Hai Rui.

With a complex expression, he said with a touch of heartache and pride: "Hai Qing, do you think that the one million taels of silver in my treasury were collected from the six ministries for nothing?"

The matter of the six ministries cost the treasury one million yuan, so how can we not give some profit?
Of course, the money is not only spent here, but it is normal to take the opportunity to reach the above political consensus.

Hai Rui thought for just a moment and then reacted immediately.

Zhu Yijun grabbed his hand and said, "Whether it's worth it or not depends on Hai Qing."

Hai Rui was speechless and could only make the promise again.

The king and his minister discussed some details and then chatted about family matters.

It was almost evening when Zhu Yijun reluctantly watched Hai Rui leave the palace.

Wait until Hai Rui leaves.

Zhu Yijun called over a secretary and ordered, "Draft an imperial edict for me to give to Hai Rui's mother, and let the cabinet discuss the details."

The Central Secretary left immediately.

Zhu Yijun called Zhang Hong over again and said, "Go, give Hai Rui twenty taels of silver as a gift, and select a concubine for Hai Rui who is good at bearing children and send her to him."

"If Hai Rui and his mother refuse, they should say... it is a gift from parents, and cannot be declined. Don't let the emperor down."

It always sounds a bit sad that such a purely good person is alone and has no descendants.

He just did it casually, and whether it would work or not depended on luck.

Zhang Hong took the order and left.

Then he asked Li Jin: "How are the people selected for Zhang Jing?" Li Jin quickly replied: "Your Majesty, they have been handed over to Zhang Jing. They are all elites of the Imperial Horse Administration."

Zhu Yijun nodded: "Call him over."

Li Jin was about to respond and leave
Zhu Yijun stopped him again: "Forget it, there are too many things to do. You can tell him what to do for me."

Li Jin bowed and waited for the Holy Emperor's message.

Zhu Yijun hesitated for a moment and slowly said, "Nanjing garrison was Zhang Hong's previous duty. I know they have some foundation in it."

"Zhang Jing is serving as the garrison commander of Nanjing this time. He doesn't need to do anything. He just needs to suppress any unrest. No one is allowed to leave the camp without my order."

"If you bring the best of the Imperial Horse Administration with you to take office and still can't handle such a small matter, then you might as well commit suicide in Nanzhili and don't come back to embarrass yourself."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand to indicate that he had finished speaking, and asked Li to go in and pass on the message.

Since he had already sent elite troops to Hai Rui, he was not afraid of simple civil unrest.

On the contrary, we must guard against collusion between internal and external forces and inciting officers and soldiers to cause trouble.

The so-called Nanjing Garrison was in charge of controlling the various Nanjing guards, and was usually held by both nobles and eunuchs.

Zhang Jing was a ruthless man. Since he was able to overthrow Feng Bao and take power in history, he must have been quite capable. The purpose of sending him to Nanzhili was to suppress the various guards in Nanjing and prevent any changes.

This was the best he could do to nip the problem in the bud. He just hoped Hai Rui wouldn't let him down this time.

Li Jin retreated quietly.

After giving all the instructions, Zhu Yijun rubbed his brows tiredly.

He stayed alone in the training grounds, recalling his response and trying to see if there was anything he had missed.

After confirming that it was correct, he breathed a sigh of relief.

There have been too many things that have consumed my mind lately.

Unfortunately, it’s not time to rest yet.

Thinking of this, he asked someone to help him put on the wooden armor and start practicing boxing.

……

After dinner.

Zhu Yijun finally had time to open "The Analects of Confucius" and "The Book of Rites" and start studying.

I was extremely tired.

But when he thought about the imperial lecture tomorrow, Zhu Yijun could only force himself to finish his homework first.

He just read quietly.

Sometimes I think deeply.

Occasionally I would pick up a pen and circle certain places.

After about half an hour, he slowly closed the book.

Then I felt really tired, so I just closed my eyes and took a nap.

After resting for a while in a daze, he stretched, sat up and continued to study.

He came back to his senses, spread out the paper, picked up the pen, pondered for a moment, and slowly wrote: "The Imperial Lecture Official Shixing said to me that man is born good; the Imperial Lecture Official Siwei said to me that man is born evil. I was at a loss and didn't know what to do."

"After the lecture, I read through the classics and read all the books. I learned that there are Mencius' theory of human nature being good, Xunzi's theory of human nature being evil, and Gaozi's theory of no good or evil. They are all the words of the second sages among all the philosophers. I am more confused and don't know where to go."

"Fortunately, the Kingdom of Korea shared the worries of the king and father and presented a person with innate talent."

"I have ordered the inner court to spy on him for more than a month, record his actions, and finally come to a conclusion."

"He is not annoyed when he encounters evil, nor is he happy when he sees good. He follows his heart's desires, his actions are unlimited, and his mind has no rules."

"When the eunuchs taught etiquette and the deans taught about human relations, people were like the heaven and earth, whose purity and turbidity gradually separated, and they gradually developed conscience, good deeds and gratitude."

"It is known that human nature is neither good nor evil at the beginning, but is determined by what one sees and encounters in the future."

"So I followed Gaozi's theory - 'Nature is like a turbulent river. If you divert it from the east, it will flow east; if you divert it from the west, it will flow west.'"

"I also have a feeling that when it comes to arguments, one cannot convince others without clear evidence."

He finished the homework for tomorrow's imperial lecture in one go and breathed a sigh of satisfaction.

He waited quietly for the ink to dry, then said to Jiang Keqian who was standing beside him.

He asked casually, "When will Li Zhi arrive in the capital?"

Jiang Keqian had no expression on his face and said sternly, "Your Majesty, Li Zhi has been traveling around to find people to discuss academic matters and to give lectures and answer questions at colleges in various places. He is much slower than expected. It will probably take another two or three days."

Zhu Yijun frowned. This guy really didn't give him face. Even after he urged him so much, he was still dragging his feet on the road.

Come to think of it, Confucius is just the barking of a dog in this guy's eyes, so the emperor himself is probably no different from dog shit.

He then asked: "Where is the prince of Zheng Wang's family?"

Jiang Keqian shook his head: "The Jinyiwei sent people to go with the clan officials, so they can't refuse."

Zhu Yijun sighed, still feeling resentful.

When Prince Zheng made a memorial to remonstrate with Emperor Sejong, the enraged Emperor directly stripped him of his title of prince, demoted him to a commoner, and imprisoned him in Fengyang.

Although the late emperor showed mercy by releasing King Zheng and restoring his title, this grudge was obviously not so easy to let go.

When King Zheng was imprisoned, this prince was just fifteen years old. He said, "I feel sad that my father was imprisoned without any crime." Then he built an earthen room outside the palace gate and lived alone on straw mats until King Zheng was released.

King Zheng was imprisoned without any crime, so it was obvious who was at fault. Therefore, the Prince of Zheng had always been resentful of the royal family. After that, he stopped living in the mansion and went to build a mud house, which was a silent protest.

As for King Zheng himself, he refused to accept salary and lived to the day he died wearing cloth clothes and eating plain rice and vegetables.

It is no wonder that when Zhu Yijun ascended the throne, this family did not send any congratulatory message.

It is understandable that he has invited me again and again but I still refuse.

If it were someone else, Zhu Yijun would not bother to care. After all, it was Emperor Shenzong's fault and he did not feel any burden in his heart.

The problem is... he is determined to get the prince of Zheng Wang's family.

His name was Zhu Zaiyu, later known as the Saint of Music. He was a famous musician and mathematician.

The word "genius" is not enough to describe him. He is a groundbreaking figure who can use a huge abacus spanning 81 levels to perform square and cube root calculations.

This person proved historically that the interval of the evenly tempered musical scale can be taken as the twelfth root of two, accurate to twenty-five decimal places!

This is the twelve-tone equal temperament in music theory.

Not to mention the useless comparison that he was decades ahead of the Europeans, just based on his mathematical talent, Zhu Yijun would never let him go.

Mathematical talent has its own corresponding smell.

This man made great military achievements, from surveying the calendar, to calculating the geographical location of northern Zhili and the declination of the earth's spikes, to accurately calculating the length of the tropical year and the specific gravity of mercury.

Zhu Yijun didn't even dare to imagine how wonderful it would be if such a person could do mathematical research and promotion for him in addition to music.

But harboring resentment now is not a solution.

In history, Zhu Zaiyu voluntarily gave up his royal title and devoted himself to the study of music theory. This kind of ideological realm is obviously not something that can be impressed by ordinary means.

Zhu Yijun thought for a long time and finally made up his mind.

He spread out another piece of paper, picked up the pen and slowly wrote at the top: "Zheng Wang, Hou Wan is my relative, Zheng Wang's son, Zai Yu is my relative."

"I have heard that King Zheng was stripped of his title for his words, and was imprisoned for no crime. Although my father has done his best to restore order, he cannot heal the wounds of his loved ones."

"This is the fault of my royal grandfather. I am willing to accept it and send a gift of apology to King Zheng from afar. I hope that my relatives can understand and let it go as soon as possible."

"Also, I heard that my relative Zai Yu is quite interested in music theory, and my close friend Keqian is also good at it. Recently, he has made some progress and can increase the number of equal-interval musical scales to twelve."

“If you have time, you can go to the capital, enjoy the friendship of your family, and explore the way of music.”

"Look forward to your recovery."

After Zhu Yijun finished writing, he picked up the private seal beside him and stamped it.

At the signature, the four words "Chang Wei Jushi" were left.

After doing all this, Zhu Yijun called Jiang Keqian.

With a confident look on his face, he said, "Jiang Qing, I heard that you have a new understanding of music, right?"

Jiang Keqian was stunned.

Somewhat confused, he said, "No."

The progress of compiling his piano book is slow and there is no new development. He doesn't know what the emperor means by this.

Zhu Yijun waved his hand and said, "If I say you have it, then you have it."

He handed the letter to Jiang Keqian and instructed him, "Send someone to deliver this letter to Prince Zheng's mansion."

"And if you enclose your letter, just say..."

He said this and that, personally imparting the secrets
He personally taught Jiang Keqian how to be a riddle man and pretend to be mysterious.

He couldn't remember some of the mathematical ideas very clearly, but he came from a science and engineering background after all, so he could still remember some calculus and abstract algebra, which was more than enough for him to be a riddle solver.

The worst that can happen is that we can just trick them into coming here and then study it together.

To reform the taxation and finance laws of the Ming Dynasty, it is necessary to reform the Ministry of Revenue.

It can be said that the talent he lacks most now is a minor official who has a basic understanding of mathematics.

Although he had a mathematical system in his mind, he had almost forgotten it vaguely. If he wanted to localize it, he would definitely need these mathematicians to implement it.

Jiang Keqian nodded as if he understood, and then prepared to write down these words according to the emperor's instructions.

He was holding the letter and was about to leave.

Zhu Yijun called him again and handed the homework on the theory of good and evil that he had written earlier to Jiang Keqian.

He ordered: "Go to the Ministry of Public Administration first and send a copy of this to them, and publish it in the next issue of the Sun and Moon Morning Post."

"As always, use plain language."

"Write down the causes and consequences of the lecture, and add a comment at the end, saying..."

At this point, Zhu Yijun paused, pondered for a while, and then said word by word: "In any dispute over claims, proof comes first."

(End of this chapter)