Chapter 64: Harmonizing Yin and Yang, Using and Discarding

evening.

Lu Diaoyang led Shen Shixing to the cabinet and stopped outside Zhang Juzheng's duty room.

The latter glanced at the former in confusion: "Master?"

Lu Diaoyang shook his head and said softly, "The Prime Minister wants to see you alone."

Only then did Shen Shixing realize why Lu Diaoyang had been chattering all the way and giving him so many instructions.

He moved a little nervously and pretended to go in.

Lu Diaoyang patted his shoulder and turned back to his duty room.

Shen Shixing pushed the door open cautiously.

When he entered the room, he saw Zhang Juzheng taking a nap on the table. He seemed to have heard some noise and then raised his head.

Shen Shixing bowed and said, "Prime Minister."

Zhang Juzheng rubbed his brows tiredly and gestured for him to sit down.

After Shen Shixing sat down, he spoke: "Did I tell you about the meeting with the emperor today on the way here?"

Shen Shixing shook his head: "Teacher said Yuanfu will tell me."

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said bluntly: "Jia Daiwen and Hu Qi fabricated prophecies and should be sentenced to death and their entire families should be exiled."

"Bi Qiang, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, Zhang Daoming, Imperial Censor of Engineering, Shen Yikuan, and eight others were exiled."

Shen Shixing was shocked.

Zhang Juzheng briefly recounted what happened when he met the emperor.

Shen Shixing still didn't come back to his senses, and murmured: "Prime Minister, this is probably not done by Jia Daiwen."

Whether based on his understanding of Jia Daiwen or Jia Daiwen's reaction afterwards, he thought that this was not something Jia Daiwen would do.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said, "I believe what you said. Not only do I believe it, but the emperor can also believe it."

Jia Daiwen had no soldiers under his command, so why did he dare to be so arrogant? If someone said that it was Zhang Siwei who did it, he would believe it more.

Shen Shixing understood this and suddenly realized, "So, Jia Daiwen asked because of the other 20% possibility that he wanted to be sentenced to death!?"

How is this different from false accusation?
Zhang Juzheng's implication was unclear: "If Wang Chonggu was not still in Xuanda, Zhang Siwei and Yang Bo would also be sentenced to death."

Shen Shixing's surprise and doubt came to an abrupt end, and his body suddenly felt cold.

Zhang Juzheng patiently explained to this rising star: "It's not what you think."

"Princess Qixia's death, if it was an accident, it would be fine, but if it was man-made... the suspects, in the eyes of this majesty, are the ones who deserved to die."

"This is just taking advantage of the situation and settling scores."

Only then did Shen Shixing feel a little relieved.

After thinking for a moment, he sighed and said, "After all, it is just the youthful spirit. I am afraid it will hinder my moral reputation."

In the four months since the emperor ascended the throne, everything he has done can be described as gentle and silent.

Among the court officials, there was also a reputation as a benevolent monarch.

But if they really want to punish the censors according to the law, and also deal with the third-rank officials, this is a drastic action.

The reputation of a benevolent monarch that he had previously built up was ruined halfway.

Zhang Juzheng had a complicated expression and said slowly, "So, we must enforce the law. The cabinet and the three judicial departments must make this a solid case."

The reputations of Emperor Shizong and Yan Song are bound together.

Just like the reputation of the late emperor and Gao Gong are inseparable.

Now Zhang Juzheng, and even the entire cabinet, is in the same situation.

One glory and one glory.

When most of the court officials reached a consensus, it was not that the emperor was not benevolent enough, but that these people were extremely evil.

Shen Shixing understood what he meant: "What does the Ministry of Personnel need to do?"

Zhang Juzheng did not answer directly, but asked: "Rumo is only thirty-seven, right?"

Shen Shixing nodded: "I am thirty-nine years old."

Zhang Juzheng walked over and poured tea for Shen Shixing himself: "Heqing thinks highly of you."

Shen Shixing quickly stood up, holding the cup with both hands to take it, and said, "Thanks to the Prime Minister and the Master for their appreciation."

Zhang Juzheng nodded. "Now that Lu Shusheng is not here to take up his post, even if you are in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, you are a high-ranking official and you should be able to take charge of the affairs on your own."

"So, it's not about what I want the Ministry of Personnel to do, but what do you think about this matter?"

Shen Shixing was stunned and didn't come to his senses for a while.

Zhang Juzheng looked at Shen Shixing with encouragement.

Shen Shixing pondered in silence.

I went over everything that happened today in my mind.

I have many thoughts.

There was silence in the room for a moment.

Waited for a long time.

Shen Shixing finally tasted it.

He put down his tea, bowed and said, "Prime Minister, this matter is too harsh for my fellow countrymen in Nanzhili. I cannot sit idly by."

Zhang Juzheng nodded appreciatively.

No wonder Lu Diaoyang admired his disciple so much.

Many times, if one’s official rank and position do not reach a certain level, many things are unimaginable.

But Shen Shixing had not yet entered the cabinet. When he heard about today's events, he immediately understood the impact.

Killing censors and punishing third-rank officials naturally had a significant impact. The internal and external gossip, the hostility from local factions in Southern Zhili, etc., should not be underestimated.

What Hai Rui said is right, but it needs to be said from another perspective.

It is the emperor who should forge ahead, while the cabinet should pick up the pieces and fill in the gaps.

Previously, the cabinet and the emperor had always had differences on whether to move into Nanzhili, so the degree of cooperation seemed not so high.

But now that the emperor has persuaded them, if the emperor wants to kill someone, the cabinet will have to clean up his mess.

How to mitigate the impact is something the cabinet must consider.

Zhang Juzheng nodded and said to Shen Shixing, "Why can't I just sit back and watch?"

Shen Shixing said without hesitation: "There are still many talented officials from Nanzhili. I will select a few."

This is the value of being the top scorer in high school at the age of 27.

Zhang Juzheng only mentioned it once, and Shen Shixing immediately grasped the key point.

The cabinet had to please the emperor and appease the dissatisfaction of court officials. It can be said that the daughter-in-law was in charge of both ends.

Since we want to harmonize yin and yang, we must put it into practice.

As the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Shen Shixing was actually the court official in charge of the Ministry of Personnel. He was the highest-ranking court official from Southern Zhili.

After the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War and the Chief Censor were punished, the people of Nanzhili must have been leaderless and panic-stricken.

However, the majority of officials in the court were from Southern Zhili - fairness in the imperial examination did not mean that the level was the same in all places, and today Southern Zhili's educational resources are unparalleled.

Therefore, in order to appease this group of people, Shen Shixing had to step forward and take charge.

Only in this way can we cooperate with the cabinet to minimize the impact of this matter, and at the same time serve as a ballast stone in the affairs of Lianghuai.

When Zhang Juzheng saw that Shen Shixing really understood, he couldn't help but smile with relief.

He said in a more relaxed tone, "You will draft a memorial for the person you are promoting. The cabinet will reject it several times. It's up to you to decide."

Shen Shixing bowed.

Zhang Juzheng patted him on the shoulder and said, "You don't have to run around in my door in the future. If there is anything in the cabinet, I will let Heqing talk to you."

"You are only thirty-seven. It is a good thing for you to be independent sooner."

Shen Shixing remained silent.

This is the path that the Prime Minister must take.

There are no factions in the court, and there are all kinds of people. It is impossible for all kinds of factions to gather under the prime minister.

Just like Gao Gong in the past, he relied on Yang Bo to command the Jin Party and relied on Zhang Juzheng to command the Chu Party.

Now that Shen Shixing has to be the leader of the Nanzhili party, he naturally can no longer run around in front of the prime minister all day, otherwise it will be difficult to explain when the cabinet wants to cut off the meat of Nanzhili. And Zhang Juzheng mentioned his age twice, and his meaning is also very clear.

If he can really handle things on his own, reconcile the conflicts between the Nanzhili factions in the court, and at the same time steer the Ministry of Personnel to steadily implement the new laws, then he will not be hopeless in becoming the next prime minister.

Of course, there were some unfinished ideas that neither of them mentioned… If Shen Shixing didn’t have this ability, the Ministry of Personnel would no longer be ruled by him as the Vice Minister.

Shen Shixing bowed and kowtowed, saying, "I understand the teachings of Yuanfu."

Keeping the posture of saluting, Shen Shixing walked out of the duty room backwards.

The room fell silent again.

……

November 4th.

The Chief Censor Ge Shouli reported to the emperor that the Chief Secretary Jia Daiwen and the Censor Hu Qi fabricated prophecies and overthrew the foundation of the country, which was almost tantamount to treason. They should be punished by the death of all nine generations of their clans. The Chief Secretary of Engineering Zhang Daoming, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice Bi Qiang, the Reviewer Shen Yikuan and eight others, together with Jia Daiwen and Hu Qi, secretly colluded with each other, played with prophecies, formed a clique for personal gain, and should be punished by the death of all three generations of their clans.

The ministers were shocked and looked around, only to find that these people had not attended the court at all.

There was no room for court discussion. All nine ministers agreed, and the chief minister, the second minister, and all the other ministers of the cabinet voted to pass the bill and submit it to the emperor.

After reading the memorial, the emperor sent it back, saying that all ten of them were trusted ministers and it was not right to convict them so easily. He ordered the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court to jointly try the case.

November 5th.

Hai Rui, the Chief Censor, reported that the case of Wang Ruyan involved serious problems in Lianghuai and requested permission to personally go to Lianghuai for a detailed investigation.

The emperor bestowed a badge on Hai Rui, the Chief Censor, and appointed him as the Governor of the Lianghuai Salt Administration. He and Chen Dong, the Junior Secretary of the Dali Temple, thoroughly investigated the case of Wang Ruyan.

The two left Beijing that day.

November 7th.

After the three judicial departments interrogated Hu Qi and others for thirty-six hours overnight, the ten people confessed personally and signed their names. The Jinyiwei also found letters in the houses of the ten people, many of which contained words criticizing the emperor and plotting against the monarch.

With all the witnesses and evidence, the three judicial officials submitted the case for the crimes of prophecy to disrupt the country and plotting treason, and asked the emperor to make a decision.

The emperor thought the case was too complicated and not what a wise ruler should do, so he sent the case to the cabinet for further discussion.

At that time, the Cabinet and the Nine Ministers, grateful for the emperor's virtue, reduced the sentence of the main culprit to the execution of three clans, and the death penalty for eight accomplices.

On the same day, Cai Ruxian, the Imperial Censor of the Military Department, Chen Tang, the Imperial Censor of the Huguang Province, Luo Zun, the Imperial Censor of the Personnel Department, and others submitted a memorial requesting that Hu Qi be pardoned.

He said: "There are many ways for a monarch to govern well, but nothing is greater than rewarding ministers who give advice; there are also many ways for a monarch to govern badly, but nothing is greater than dismissing ministers who give advice. Hu Qi is an imperial censor, and his job is to punish mistakes and correct errors. Now, if someone says something that involves a prophecy, it will be considered as treason and he will be executed immediately. I am afraid that from now on, there will be more people who obey the emperor's orders and fewer people who offend him."

I humbly ask you to think about the fact that there is nothing wrong with his madness and absurdity, and consider the fact that obstruction is terrible. Either give him a lighter punishment, or allow him to reinstate his post. This will spread the emperor's virtue, and it is the wish of the ministers.

The Vice Minister of Personnel, Shen Shixing, attached a memorial, requesting on behalf of ten people.

The emperor was deeply moved when he heard it.

Issued an order again.

There was a man named Cai Ruxian, a native of Huating, Songjiang Prefecture, Nanzhili, who became a Jinshi in the second year of Longqing. He was a Censor-in-Chief of the Military Department. He made righteous remonstrances and his words were meaningful, so he was promoted to the Censor-in-Chief of the Household Department.

The officials who made the comments this time were rewarded with five taels of silver and their salary was reduced by one year.

He also thought that the killing was too severe and hurtful to benevolence, so he followed the advice of the censors and Minister Shen and changed the charge of treason to treason for the ten people. Only the two main culprits were sentenced to death, and the rest were exiled.

At this point, the dust has finally settled.

……

Imperial College.

"Siye."

"Li Siye."

Along the way, doctors of the Five Classics and teaching assistants came to greet Li Zhi one after another.

Li Zhi returned the greeting perfunctorily and went straight to the duty room of the chief priest.

He pushed open the door and shouted, "Tao Jijiu, His Majesty said at the time that your salary would be doubled, but you refused to accept it. Isn't this a crime of deceiving the emperor?"

When the emperor tricked him into coming, he said, "You won't be controlled by anyone, your salary will be doubled, and you can study with peace of mind."

Now, no one really cares about him - his only boss, Tao Dalin, is a cautious person who never offends anyone easily and never scolds his subordinates.

Apart from not liking to take responsibility and retreating behind everyone when there is a problem, he has almost no other shortcomings.

As for studying, I feel at ease indeed.

The affairs of the Imperial College were not busy and almost no one would disturb Li Zhi.

But the problem still remains: his salary was not doubled as agreed.

The Imperial College was a government agency with little money, so when salaries were owed, the first to be affected. When he was the Doctor of the Five Classics, his salaries were owed for several months at a time, and he always used peppercorns to pay them off.

He really didn't want to repeat the same mistake of being penniless and letting his wife and daughter starve to death.

When Tao Dalin saw the door being pushed open, he stood up suddenly. Only when he saw that it was Li Zhi did he relax.

I've gotten used to being annoyed by Li Zhi these days, so I naturally know what's going on.

He said in a gentle voice: "Li Siye, why don't you go to the Ministry of Revenue to ask? The salaries of our Imperial College are all determined by the Ministry of Revenue. If Li Siye is causing trouble for me, I can't conjure up the money, right?"

Li Zhi was speechless: "You said so on the day I reported to the Imperial College. After that, I went to the Ministry of Revenue to ask, and the Ministry of Revenue asked me for a certificate from the Ministry of Personnel."

Tao Dalin remained calm and said, "Then Li Siye should go to the Ministry of Personnel to ask?"

Li Zhi curled his lips and said, "I went there yesterday, and the Ministry of Personnel asked me for the imperial edict of His Majesty."

Tao Dalin stood up, closed the door, and turned around and said, "Yes, where is the imperial edict? The Ministry of Personnel cannot give you a double salary out of thin air."

Li Zhi took off his crown, revealing a short flat head: "That was an oral order! Where is the clear order?"

Tao Dalin quickly comforted him, "Why not ask your father-in-law to be a witness?"

Li Zhi said unhappily, "Didn't you go there today? You just came back."

"It is said that the Forbidden City is in the Qing Palace recently and is too busy to care about me!"

Tao Dalin followed suit and said, "It's hard for Li Siye."

Li Zhi refused to give up: "Tao Jijiu is a court official. What exactly does Your Majesty plan for me? Why don't you ask for me?"

The emperor summoned him, so it was highly unlikely that he was just going to stay in the Imperial College and eat nothing.

When he saw the emperor publishing a new newspaper, he immediately realized that the emperor was vying for prestige among the scholars and the people.

If he was offered double the salary, he would probably be given another job.

He also could not imagine that apart from his identity as a heretical disciple of the School of Mind, there was nothing else worthy of the emperor's attention.

The problem is that I heard that there was a big incident in the court recently, and I guess it was because of this that the emperor was too busy to deal with him.

This made Li Zhi feel a little uncomfortable, as he was afraid that the emperor would forget about him.

The money he brought with him was not enough to cover the several months' salary he owed at the Imperial College.

He had previously gone to the new school to ask for a part-time job, but was kicked out by Cheng Dawei, who said that he had no talent, which made him very angry.

Now we can only hope that the emperor will remember him sooner.

Tao Dalin was calm and composed, and said calmly, "Don't worry, Li Siye. The capital is not what you think it is now."

“After the September performance evaluation system was piloted, His Majesty and the Cabinet made it clear that officials who received excellent performance in this quarter’s performance evaluation would not only receive full compensation for their outstanding salaries, but would also receive an additional performance bonus, which would be enough for Li Siye to live comfortably.”

Li Zhi said helplessly: "Master Tao, please don't try to fool me. I have read the examination standards of the Imperial College. It would be great if I could pass it."

It is naturally not easy for a government office with little money to achieve results.

Tao Dalin said in a gentle voice: "It's not bad to pass the test. At least the salary will be paid in full every month, and there will be no more discounts on banknotes and peppercorns."

The salaries in the Ming Dynasty were actually sufficient - as long as there were no outstanding salaries and they were paid in full.

Li Zhi couldn't stand Tao Dalin's Tai Chi.

No more pleading with him.

He stood up and was about to leave. After taking two steps, he couldn't help but ask, "If Master Tao has time, please ask His Majesty for me."

Tao Dalin smiled and nodded.

Li Zhi had no choice but to leave the room in a rage with the Maitreya Buddha in his hand.

Along the way, he met students who came to greet him. Li Zhi forced a smile and bowed in return without any hesitation.

As it was getting dark, Li Zhi was just about to go out for dinner.

As I was passing by the Dianbu Hall, I suddenly saw the Supervisor of the Shengqian Hall jogging towards me.

"Li Siye! Someone in the palace is looking for you. They are waiting for you in the Shengqian Hall!"

Li Zhi went straight to the Shengqian Hall without saying a word.

　There are two more chapters, which will be updated today.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)