Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 830: Korean Students
Is this really sent to the Imperial College to study?
Although there have been countless cases of foreign nations sending people to study at the Imperial Academy or the Imperial College since ancient times, Zhang Shou remembered that during the Ming Dynasty, although the Joseon Dynasty seemed to be submissive, it actually kept its own secrets on the issue of the Jurchens, and tried to establish its own prestige and influence among the Jurchen tribes at every turn, while resisting complete sinicization, so...
Therefore, the Korean royal family came to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but rarely went to the Imperial College! Although it was common for Koreans to offer virgins and eunuchs as tribute during the Yongle to Renxuan periods, it was mainly during the Hongwu period that they went to the Imperial College to study on a large scale. The royal children did not come out easily. After all, if they went by sea, there was a ship capsizing incident in the early Hongwu period, and at least dozens of people died.
As for how many foreign students came to study abroad from the Joseon Dynasty after Hongwu, he was not quite sure. He could not even catch up on his own country's history, and he was not that free at the time, so how could he study how many foreigners came to study?
So, at this moment, Zhang Shou could not help but stare at the cramped sedan chair that seemed to him to be extremely simple and shabby, wondering who this so-called Zhe Shanjun was. However, he had not watched enough Korean dramas, and the history of the Joseon Dynasty was too long. Only experts could figure out the emperor's genealogy, so he finally gave up.
Moreover, even if the person was a certain king of Korea in history, but...what does it have to do with him? Therefore, he glared at Zhang Chen, signaling him to stop talking nonsense, but said calmly: "So it turns out that you are the King of Goryeo. You can come to the Imperial Academy from afar to study. You are thirsty for knowledge. The weather is cold. If you want to get off the sedan chair and ride a horse at the city gate, please wear more thick clothes."
At this point, he paused, and then continued calmly: "Just now Zhang Chen argued with the envoys, it was not because he was arrogant and reckless, and he was eager to return to the city, but because he has been accompanying the Fourth Prince to teach outside for a full month, and we are now in a hurry to send the Fourth Prince back to the palace to report to the Emperor and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Zheshan Jun and the envoys may as well take their time, we will go ahead."
After saying this, Zhang Shou winked at Ah Liu, then waved his hand to signal the other guards to follow him, and immediately rode away, but he had no intention of wasting any more time on this group of Goryeo envoys.
Zhang Chen, who had been leading the way just now, deliberately fell behind and said with a smile, "The Fourth Prince never rides in a sedan chair, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince never rides in a sedan chair either. Moreover, he, as the Prince of the East Palace, once rode all the way from the capital to a farm in Tongzhou to visit the Fourth Prince who was in the countryside to help with his studies. Mr. Zheshan, you are really too squeamish!"
Seeing Zhang Chen riding away after saying this, the envoy gritted his teeth secretly. He came to the silent sedan chair, leaned down slightly and whispered: "Zheshan Jun, Mr. Zhang was also quite rude to the king, so please don't bother with him. This time, our country has been ordered to send you to study at the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty. It's best not to make trouble."
There was only a slight breathing sound in the carriage, but no agreement or rejection could be heard. The envoy was embarrassed and rode away quietly, telling the rest of the delegation to continue on. Not to mention the man in the sedan, even he himself often rode in a sedan, and riding a horse in such a cold weather was extremely uncomfortable.
The most important thing is... the cost of pulling a carriage or riding it, feeding the horses and maintaining a carriage is much higher than the cost of those lowly untouchables carrying a sedan chair. The Ming Dynasty calls itself the Celestial Empire, but can't it even do the math?
In the cramped sedan chair, a frail young man of about eleven or twelve years old, wearing a heavy fur coat, sat cross-legged. Although he was holding a hand warmer in his hands, his face still looked a little pale.
After each king ascended the throne, he would send one of his royal sons to study at the Imperial Academy in the capital of the Ming Dynasty. This was a rule established by Emperor Taizong of the Ming Dynasty when he conferred the title of King of Goryeo. It was reiterated again and again by successive emperors. Even though the Sungkyunkwan had been established in the country to imitate the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty, it still could not survive this ancestral system of the Ming Dynasty.
Although kings of all generations tried hard to let the Ming Dynasty change the name of the so-called Goryeo country to Joseon, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty were extremely stubborn and always refused. Liaodong was densely populated with troops and the Jurchens would be suppressed for any slight movement. There were also many disputes in Goryeo, and it was difficult for civil and military officials to be united, so they could only serve the Celestial Empire cautiously and did not dare to act rashly. As for tribute women and tributes, that was commonplace.
Even though there were disputes in the Ming Dynasty, each fight for the throne ended too quickly, so quickly that Goryeo had no time to take advantage of the opportunity to gain something. From Yingzong to Ruizong, the first thing they did after ascending the throne was to sweep away the Mongols and Jurchens on the border. Faced with such a situation where the army was approaching, how could Goryeo dare not continue to send royal family members to the Imperial Academy? After all, studying is only three to five years, not a lifetime.
Although this situation has occasionally been an exception due to internal strife and disputes in the Ming Dynasty over the past hundred years, it has continued for the most part. Moreover, the most stringent rule of this hostage-like rule is that the emperors of all dynasties have clearly stated that they only want legitimate sons, not illegitimate sons. They want the legitimate sons and nephews of the king, and the rest of the side branches cannot be used to make up the numbers.
I think the news of the law of imprisoning illegitimate children spread in the country, and even the Ming Dynasty knew about it.
After all, although all the illegitimate sons of nobles and civil officials could not get involved in power because of the maternal law, there were also cases in the royal family where the wife could not give birth to a son or even lost an heir. Therefore, sometimes even if there was only one legitimate son, the crown prince, he had to be carefully escorted to the capital of the Ming Dynasty and stayed in the Imperial Academy for a few years.
For example, his uncle who was now the king. Even though he was reprimanded for the sedan chair dispute after less than a year in the Imperial Academy and returned home in disgrace, his grandfather, King Shizu, only had his uncle as his son at that time. Could he have deposed his uncle as the crown prince for this? He just wrote a letter to apologize for his uncle's crime and offered tribute to apologize.
Even his uncle, who had once been resentful of the humiliation he suffered in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, would not dare to offend the Ming Dynasty after he ascended the throne. The disputes among various nobles and civil officials in the country and the struggle for power had not yet been resolved!
But even if he had too many troubles to solve, he still didn't forget to send his nephew over quickly.
So, on the one hand, he had to endure the pain of separation from his most respected mother, and on the other hand, he had to worry about how long he would stay in the capital of the Ming Dynasty and whether he could really go back in three to five years.
As for the throne that should have belonged to his father, he did not expect it to return to his line. Although his uncle's eldest son died, he already had a second son, who was not even twenty years old, and there would be more sons in the future.
In comparison, he probably wouldn't mind even if his nephew was left in the capital of the Ming Dynasty for the rest of his life.
Moreover, even if his father could live to this day and could successfully ascend to the throne from the position of crown prince, perhaps his son would still have to come to the capital of the Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, would he let his elder brother who is even more frail and sickly come?
Thinking of this, thinking of Zhang Chen who had provoked his uncle before and treated the Goryeo delegation as nothing, and thinking of how he compared himself with the Crown Prince of the Ming Dynasty and another prince before leaving, the little Zhe Shanjun in the sedan chair couldn't help but sigh deeply, and then hugged the hand warmer in his arms tightly.
The carriage he had taken when he set out had been repaired several times because of the bumps and wear along the way. When he was not far from the capital, it fell apart, so the spare sedan chair was taken out. After all, his journey was too difficult, and because he was afraid of the dangers of the sea route, he came by land this time.
Although a ship can travel very fast if the wind is favorable, once it capsizes, even the bodies may not be found. Decades ago, more than a hundred Korean scholars who went to study at the Imperial Academy ended up drowning 39 people on the way. And not long ago, the second prince of the Ming Dynasty who took a ship to the south also died without a trace, right?
On such a cold day, he didn't think he could hold on after being shaken all the way. He still had a mother and a frail elder brother, and he couldn't gamble with his body. It was enough for him to change horses at the city gate and keep riding for a while.
Anyway, his uncle had been accused like that before. Even if he was scolded like that again, he would only be treated the same as his uncle. If he could be driven back, it would not be a bad thing. In that case, he would just have to stay with his mother and elder brother!
However, when the Goryeo delegation arrived at the city gate, officials from the Ministry of Rites were already there to greet them.
After a few pleasantries, the envoy was about to ask Zheshanjun to get off the sedan chair and ride on a horse, but the official of the host and guest department said with a half-smile: "I mentioned this when Mr. Zhang and his party came here. Zheshanjun is young, and it's so cold, so he should not ride a horse. Take a carriage instead."
The envoy looked embarrassed immediately, but before he could explain that there was something wrong with the carriage specially provided for the mountain king, the officer of the host and guest department had already waved his hand gently, and a carriage with a red oil-painted rim drove over.
"The Ministry of Hosts and Guests has just prepared a carriage. Please get on board, Master Zheshan. The delegation will be arranged in the southern area of Huitong Hall as usual! Speaking of which, Master Zheshan is old enough to study at the Imperial Academy. You are a little older than our Crown Prince. If you have good qualifications, you may be able to study at the Ciqing Palace in the future. That is an honor that no member of the Goryeo royal family who came to the capital before has ever had."
Whether it was glorious or not, Zhe Shanjun had no time to think about it for the time being. He got off the sedan chair and wrapped himself tightly in his cloak. Fortunately, the cold wind didn't blow for long before he was helped into the carriage. As he sat down and the carriage moved forward, he suddenly felt something different.
It’s not that the furnishings in the carriage are so luxurious, nor that the carriage is so big, but because, when the carriage is moving, it can actually reduce the bumpy vibrations!
How come Goryeo didn't have such a carriage... No, it should be said that with a sedan chair, which can be carried by people, who would bother to study how to make a carriage that doesn't bump? The craftsmen, who are low-class people, don't have the brains to do so, and the noble yangban don't have the time to spare!
And when Zheshanjun got on the carriage that was temporarily dispatched because Zhang Shou casually mentioned it to the official of the Ministry of Rites and entered the capital, Zhang Shou and his entourage had already entered Dong'an Gate at lightning speed and rode slowly all the way to the outside of Donghua Gate.
As early as yesterday, the emperor and the third prince learned the news that Zhang Shou was going to pick someone up today, so when a young eunuch who had been waiting here for a long time saw this group of people coming, his eyes lit up and he ran forward at a trot.
"Master Zhang, you finally brought the Fourth Prince back! The Emperor is now at the Crown Prince's place in Ciqing Palace. I will go and tell the Concubine Xian right away!"
Recognizing that it was a eunuch in the Changshou Palace of his mother, Concubine Jiang, the Fourth Prince didn't have time to say anything before he turned around and ran away, obviously to tell Concubine Jiang the good news of his return to the palace. Although he missed his mother very much, knowing that the emperor was in Ciqing Palace, the Fourth Prince sighed deeply and of course knew where he should go first.
However, just as he was about to enter the palace from Donghua Gate, a very weak voice suddenly came from the group of guards behind him: "Mr. Zheng , is this really the imperial palace?"
The Fourth Prince turned around in shock and saw that the person who spoke was Bai Shanshan, who had a confused look on his face. Next to him, Bai Xiaoshui, who was a few months younger than him, looked as if she was scared to tears. Only then did he finally realize that because he inexplicably met the Goryeo delegation on the road, he had not paid attention to many things that he should have paid attention to, and had exposed many things that should not have been exposed.
So, he couldn't help but glared at Zhang Chen, but he didn't expect Zhang Chen to look at Zhang Shou with an innocent look on his face. I shouted that I was the eldest son of the Duke of Qin's mansion, but didn't you expose the identity of the fourth prince with just one shout? At this moment, he completely forgot that he had exposed the matter of the fourth prince's financial aid to the Goryeo delegation just for the sake of momentary pleasure.
Zhang Shou finally couldn't help but cover his forehead, thinking that this was really a mess! If he hadn't been distracted by the Korean envoys, he would never have forgotten that he brought two children from Baijia Village with him on this trip.
Thinking of this, he coughed and said, "Yes, this is the imperial palace. Xiao Cheng, Xiao Huasheng, pick two people and send these two little guys back to my house first. I will talk to them properly."
Xiao Huasheng was at a loss for words. They had to explain to others why they had agreed to return to Beijing, but suddenly they came directly to the palace. However, if the Fourth Prince or Zhang Chen were to do this task, he felt that it would be rough and crude, so he could only agree to it helplessly.
As for the Fourth Prince, he pulled Zhang Chen, who was feeling guilty, and hurried into the Donghua Gate without saying anything, fearing that he would be asked another question, Mr. Zheng, and he would not be able to answer. When Zhang Shou saw that Xiao Huasheng and Xiao Cheng were resigned to comforting the two little guys who had completed the tour of the imperial palace for the first time in the capital, he knew that he had made the same mistake and followed them.
Ah Liu stood there, seeing two very young and ignorant children standing in front of the huge Donghua Gate, ignorant and fearful, so he went up to touch their heads. Thanks to the fact that he had visited them several times and brought gifts, the two children were not afraid of him like those people in Zhang Garden in Beijing, and their tears gradually stopped.
At this time, Ah Liu smiled and said, "Work hard. Not everyone can have the Fourth Prince and Young Master Zhang as their teachers."
