Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 793: Touching People's Hearts
Another thing that Zhang Shou was curious about was that Grand Secretary Kong agreed to Zhu Tingfang's conditions but did not show up at Chen Xianzhang's lecture, and that was even when the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, was present in person - most likely he felt that it would be better for him not to come at all, so he just bit the bullet and pretended to be busy and was lazy - wasn't he worried about Zhu Tingfang's revenge afterwards?
What's more, before the first lecture, Zhang Shou asked Zhang Dakuai to personally make a comment to the elder, and he found out a clue that Academician Kong seemed to be prepared.
So on the next day, the news that the emperor and the empress dowager had a falling out and stayed in Fengxian Hall for a night did not spread, and the news that the prince stayed with the empress dowager in Qingning Palace for a night did not spread. However, the news that Mr. Kong Jiu, who lived next door to Mr. Kong's house, fell ill and eventually died spread like wildfire.
But in the capital, there were many people dying, and the death of a doctor of the Imperial Academy was nothing. At most, he was the cousin of Confucius, so he attracted some attention. But the news spread too fast. Because he left a suicide note before his death, deeply reflecting on the sins he had committed in the past years, this was really big news.
What is even bigger than the big news is that Master Kong Jiu took out all his property in one go, claiming that he would compensate the previous victims. When this news came out at this time, it was simply shocking!
The Kong family was originally a big family with rich family wealth, so in the most expensive place in the capital, the two brothers could live next to each other, with several houses, pavilions and towers, grand and exquisite. Therefore, Master Kong Jiu could dance with his sleeves in the capital with a mere official title of Taichang Doctor, and his life could be said to be more ostentatious than that of Master Kong.
On that afternoon, when Scholar Kong appeared in the cabinet, outsiders saw that he seemed to have aged ten years, with countless white hairs on his head. Although he was not emaciated, there were traces of tears on his haggard face.
Of course, a great minister would never tell everyone about his brother's affairs like Xianglin Sao, and others did not dare to ask casually. However, Wu and Zhang, as colleagues of similar status, could not pretend to be deaf and dumb, and they had to go forward to comfort and appease. Regarding these two colleagues who were not in harmony with each other, Kong just nodded woodenly, and finally sighed.
"It was unfortunate for his family, but he finally came to his senses at the end. After all, we are brothers, and there is no way I can protect him, a sinner with a long history of bad deeds. When I had someone arrange for his funeral in his house, I had already spread the word that if his property is not enough to compensate the victims, I will pay for it on his behalf!"
"It was all because of me, as his elder brother, that I failed to supervise him and didn't discipline him strictly this time, which led to his big mistake! Now that he's dead, he finally realized his mistake, but it's too late!"
As he spoke, Grand Secretary Kong pounded the table heavily, his grief was beyond words. Grand Secretary Zhang was not that familiar with him after all, and he had already persuaded him. He sighed and shook his head, but he obviously couldn't think of anything else to say, so he could only go back to his own room. However, Grand Secretary Wu did not leave, but continued to look at Grand Secretary Kong with a smile.
Academician Kong had never dared to underestimate this colleague who had always been a peacemaker and so when he saw him like this, he immediately perked up his spirits, even though his face was still haggard and his voice was still hoarse.
"Brother Wu, what advice do you have for me?"
"It's nothing, there are just some things that I can't tell others, but I can't hide them from you, Academician Kong. After all, although you don't have the title of Prime Minister, you have the power of Prime Minister." Lord Wu's face was full of sincerity, as if his words really did not contain the slightest bit of sarcasm, and as if he didn't notice Academician Kong's face which was now even darker than before.
He directly moved a chair and sat down next to Academician Kong, then lowered his voice and said: "You happened to take leave and didn't come to the morning court today, so after the morning court, the emperor summoned me. Alas, the emperor stayed in Fengxian Hall all night yesterday..."
Scholar Kong's shoulders trembled slightly. In the past, when he had no problems, he could handle the emperor's problems calmly, but now he was facing internal and external troubles, and he didn't want to encounter any more troubles. However, when he heard the rumors of the eldest prince's death in the extremely light voice of Wu Gelao, he felt his head buzzing and almost exploded.
The eldest prince did not commit suicide by taking drugs, but was poisoned to death? Oh my God, if this matter spreads, the emperor, as a father, may be suspected of being the one who was responsible for the crime.
Otherwise, how could the eldest prince die when he went to the imperial manor?
As a well-known yes-man of the emperor and the cabinet minister who visited the Qianqing Palace the most, Wu did not care about the angry gaze of Confucius. He was always satisfied with his position, and he did not care about the simple task of delivering a message to the emperor, even though he could understand the hidden meaning behind it and the anger of his colleagues.
"Master Kong, you volunteered to go to the imperial farm before, but then something like this happened and you returned to the capital sick. The emperor not only did not blame you, but he repeatedly ordered the imperial physician to treat you, gave you medicine, and comforted you. Now that such a rumor has been leaked, you must be careful."
Does this mean that I am tied to the emperor this time?
Scholar Kong took a deep breath and then tried his best to speak in the coldest tone: "It was because the emperor was merciful again and again that the two brothers were treated so mercifully after being expelled from the clan. The second prince's boat capsizing should have been an accident at sea, and the eldest prince was resentful and plotted treason, which is an unforgivable crime. He knew that he could not survive, so he took poison and committed suicide. How can it be said that he was poisoned to death?"
Since it was just a statement to Lord Wu, and he was going to ask Lord Wu to pass the message to the emperor, although Grand Secretary Kong spoke in a low voice, he was very careful with his words and tried his best to express his meaning clearly.
As expected, the wise man Wu smiled with his eyes curved, and then said nonchalantly: "Master Kong is right. Misfortunes sent by heaven can be forgiven, but misfortunes brought upon oneself cannot be forgiven. It's just that some people with ulterior motives are trying to cause trouble. How can we let them succeed? Now that everyone is dead, if there are people who pretend to be brothers in the future, they will definitely be treasonous and rebellious!"
"Of course." Academician Kong said in a resounding voice, "Not to mention that they have been expelled from the clan and are no longer members of the royal family. Even if they are still in the clan and are still alive, they are just guilty members of the royal family. How can they be compared with the prince who has long been praised by officials and the people for his wisdom? People with ulterior motives must never be forgiven!"
You, a guy who always prides yourself on being upright and never blindly following others, actually say such flattering words, and you don’t say them in front of the emperor, but to me... Of course, you also hope that I will tell them to the emperor!
Wu Ge Lao laughed in his heart, however, as the emperor's yes-man, his ethics were naturally first-rate, and he would never do such a thing as nodding in front of others and stabbing them in the back. Just like when he just delivered the message to Confucius, he did not express himself freely at all, but only revealed two things: the emperor was crying for the late emperor in the Fengxian Hall, and the eldest prince was poisoned to death.
So, when he went to the Qianqing Palace again in the evening, he repeated Confucius' words word for word, and when he saw that the emperor had no further instructions, he planned to leave. However, to his surprise, the emperor, who had been silent all this time, suddenly called him.
"Mr. Wu, I have something I want to discuss with you, the elder. Well, Zhang Shou has assigned a task to the little guys in Banshan Hall." The emperor knew that the well-informed Wu Ge Lao must know about it, but he still explained it briefly, and then said with a smile, "In my opinion, Zhang Shou probably wants to ask a question."
"Did the Song Dynasty fall because of a tyrant ruler? An incompetent army? A treacherous prime minister? Or was it because the country was too weak to resist the Jin army? Was it because the system of valuing civil officials over military officials was completely wrong from the beginning? Or was it something else?"
Seeing that Wu Ge Lao's face slightly changed, the emperor said lightly: "This is the same question I asked those famous scholars before. The court supports scholars, but what should these so-called scholars give in return?"
"Is it true that because you have been receiving salary from the emperor for many years, you are reluctant to take up a post as an official? Or, since you are not given a high position, you just teach students in your hometown and make your students famous all over the world? Or do you want to fight for the imperial examination and never return until you win? Or do you want to get a decent degree and then pursue your own ambitions, like the future son-in-law of King Jiangdu?"
Wu Ge Lao's expression and mood had completely calmed down at this moment. He had no control over how others would answer this question, but since he accepted his current position, he had been implementing the same idea for more than ten years.
Therefore, he bowed and answered without even thinking: "Your Majesty, the Song Dynasty has nurtured scholars for hundreds of years. Therefore, during the Yashan Incident, Lu Xiufu carried the little prince and jumped into the sea to commit suicide, and tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians jumped into the sea to follow him. However, at that time, there were countless people in the world who were fed by the emperor, and how many people were loyal to the emperor? Therefore, people like Mr. Baisha think that they are supported by the people's blood and sweat, but..."
"Some people think that they should be supported by the people's blood and sweat! Because as the old saying goes, those who work with their minds rule others, and those who work with their hands are ruled by others! They think that since the Song Dynasty ruled the world together with the literati and officials, and the officials could spit in the emperor's face, then the world does not belong to the emperor alone. The Song Dynasty may have fallen, but the world is not over. They are the world."
"So, when faced with national crisis, these people would righteously tell themselves and others that they have fulfilled their duties by kneeling down and surrendering, retaining their useful bodies, and protecting the people. They may even voluntarily surrender to the enemy and turn from darkness to light... But the so-called traitors and traitors all use such self-righteous words to deceive the people!"
"So, the questions that the emperor asked those famous scholars before were to get to the bottom of the matter and ask those scholars what it means to serve the country! As for the topic raised by Master Zhang, it was to make people understand..."
When Wu Ge Lao said this, he suddenly paused, as if he was trying to find a suitable adjective, but was stuck for a moment. At this moment, he heard a faint voice: " Let people understand that the rise and fall of the country is the responsibility of every man."
“Huh!”
Hearing that the clear female voice was Zhu Ying, Wu Ge Lao immediately looked in the direction of the voice. He saw a woman in a fiery red dress walking towards him. If it were another minister, he would probably be furious at this moment - that is, he would immediately turn hostile, but not only did his surprised expression disappear instantly, but he also nodded repeatedly with a smile.
"Well said, well said, isn't it true that every man is responsible for the fate of his country? You are worthy of being Miss Zhu. This is more appropriate than what I originally thought of. I originally wanted to say that the world is not only the world of the king and the literati, but also the world of everyone in the world."
Zhu Ying was not pleased with Wu's flattery. She glanced at the emperor with some resentment, then stepped forward to pay her respects expressionlessly, and then said indifferently: "Wu, you are too polite. This is what Ah Shou said, and I just copied it. Ah Shou also said that in fact, there is no need for scholars to explain this truth. Whenever there is a war, the people who charge into the front are not ordinary people, but the emperor and the passionate scholars and officials in normal times?"
Of course, the emperor saw Zhu Ying's cold face. He had planned to deal with it as if nothing had happened. However, when he heard that she had spoken rudely to Elder Wu, he had to stop her and said, "Yingying, it's ok for you to just barge in, but why are you talking to Elder Wu like that? I provoke you, he didn't!"
Wu Ge Lao thought the emperor's rebuke was a bit impressive at first, but he almost laughed out loud when he heard the last part. As for being offended... he never thought that "the usually passionate scholar-officials" referred to him. You know, he was hardly passionate at all. If it was Confucius, he would be furious.
Therefore, before Zhu Ying could speak, he immediately said with a smile on his face: "It's okay, it's okay, Miss Zhu, this is also true to her nature, and what Mr. Zhang said is indeed sharp. No matter how passionate some scholars write poems and articles, they can't cover up the fact that they are not the ones who really fight and kill the enemy! What's more, Emperor Taizu once said so!"
"Every man has his share of responsibility for the fate of his country. This is not a matter of words, but actions. Elder Wu is right." Seeing that Zhu Ying finally turned her anger into joy and bowed to him as an apology, Elder Wu was flattered. However, since he knew that it was the emperor who "made" Zhu Ying unhappy, he certainly would not stay here any longer. Anyway, he understood the emperor's intention and naturally asked to leave immediately.
He had to get out quickly and make the discussion that the emperor wanted more intense!
After Wu Ge Lao took his leave, he left quickly. Zhu Ying glanced at the helpless emperor and did not dwell on yesterday's topic. Instead, he said directly: "Your Majesty, Mingyue and I organized an interview for the girls' school yesterday. We accepted a total of 20 daughters, including the Princess of Hailing County. We interviewed all of them one by one. As for the remaining students, we will post the questions for enrollment and then interview them after collecting the papers."
"Of course, we will no longer recruit daughters of officials above the fifth rank."
Seeing the emperor's astonishment that he actually told me this, Zhu Ying just pretended not to see it. "Although there are only a few days left in the twelfth lunar month, even if we open the class, we can only have a few days, but after recruiting students, we still want to open the class for a few days to try it out. I plan to invite the empress dowager to come and see it in person, and by the way, invite her to leave the palace to relax. Just tell me whether you agree or not."
