Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 363 The Backbone of Fushe
"So you've been in and out of the palace a lot lately?"

Xu Xiancheng smiled and nodded, "Since we are repairing the three main halls, we naturally have to go in and out of the palace. The rules in the palace are strict and there are many inconveniences, but His Majesty treats us very kindly. He asks about the progress every day, and sometimes even personally instructs the craftsmen. To be honest, I thought that the rumors about His Majesty's good carpentry were just lies, but this time I have learned a lot. Although I don't understand these, there are many skilled craftsmen in the Ministry of Works. Those craftsmen privately admire His Majesty's skills. It is not an exaggeration to describe it as a workmanship that surpasses nature."

"Is it so exaggerated?" Zhu Shenzui asked curiously. The Tianqi Emperor was known as the Carpenter Emperor and was very famous in history. However, Zhu Shenzui had always thought that the so-called Carpenter Emperor was just a hobby. If we really talk about skills, how good could the Tianqi Emperor, who was only in his early twenties, be?
But Xu Xiancheng told Zhu Shenzhui that Emperor Tianqi not only had superb carpentry skills, but also had pointed roofs in his architectural designs, which could not but surprise Zhu Shenzhui.

"Brother-in-law, this is not hearsay, I saw it with my own eyes and heard it with my own ears." Xu Xiancheng said seriously: "It has been more than a month since I entered the Ministry of Works to observe politics. I have been in charge of this matter. Your Majesty's ability is truly amazing. Not to mention me, even the craftsmen in the Ministry of Works are ashamed of themselves."

"That's not all. Did you know that the renovation of the three main halls was all arranged by your Majesty, from design to planning and construction details? Even the money spent was budgeted by your Majesty himself. According to the previous operation of the Ministry of Works, the renovation of the three main halls would be extremely expensive, and it would cost at least tens of millions of taels of silver. But your Majesty personally took charge, and planned everything carefully, even how to process a pillar and where to place it. According to the plan, the renovation of the three main halls will be completed after the beginning of next spring, and the total cost is only five million taels, which is only one-third of the previous budget."

At this point, Xu Xiancheng showed an expression of admiration on his face. It seemed that he was impressed by the talent of Emperor Tianqi in this area. It was unheard of that an emperor was so proficient in construction. Moreover, the cost of repairing the three main halls was compressed to such an extent, which was much less than the normal budget. As for the quality, it was still guaranteed, which was really admirable.

Zhu Shenzhui curiously asked Xu Xiancheng whether he had ever spoken to Emperor Tianqi. Xu Xiancheng smiled and said that of course he had, but it was only exchanges on construction and engineering. As for other matters, the emperor did not ask proactively, and as a minister, Xu Xiancheng did not dare to bring it up.

However, the Emperor Tianqi was a man of modest character, quick-witted and highly professional. Xu Xiancheng had a very good impression of the Emperor Tianqi. Not only Xu Xiancheng, but also the famous Wei Zhongxian, he had met at the construction site of the three main halls. It happened that there were several times when the Emperor Tianqi was inspecting the progress, and Wei Zhongxian came to report to the Emperor Tianqi, so they met several times.

Xu Xiancheng was very curious about Wei Zhongxian at first. After all, Wei Zhongxian was very famous now, and there were probably few people in the world who had not heard of the name of Eunuch Wei.

Before taking part in the Autumn Examination, there were many rumors about Wei Zhongxian in the capital. Many Donglin Party members and scholars even described Wei Zhongxian as an unforgivable person. There were also rumors among the people that the Emperor Tianqi had become a puppet of Wei Zhongxian.

Before, Xu Xiancheng was somewhat skeptical, but after he entered the palace to be in charge of construction matters, he met Emperor Tianqi and Wei Zhongxian successively. Although the meetings were not very frequent, it gave Xu Xiancheng the opportunity to get close to and observe them.

In his judgment, the rumors outside were not convincing, and the so-called Wei Zhongxian treating Emperor Tianqi as a puppet was even more nonsense.

In front of Emperor Tianqi, Wei Zhongxian was just an ordinary old servant, who was extremely respectful to the emperor. However, from their few words of conversation, it could be judged that Emperor Tianqi was Wei Zhongxian's master, and Wei Zhongxian was just the emperor's slave.

In addition, Wei Zhongxian did not seem to be the kind of cruel and vicious person who ignored the people's livelihood. On the contrary, he was kind to the common people. Just when Xu Xiancheng had just entered the palace to observe politics and was in charge of construction matters, Wei Zhongxian came once when Emperor Tianqi was explaining the details of the project to him.

When Wei Zhongxian met Emperor Tianqi, he reported to the emperor the news of local disasters. When Emperor Tianqi asked Wei Zhongxian how to deal with the situation, Wei Zhongxian suggested without hesitation that local taxes and grain should be reduced, and that the court should allocate funds and grain for disaster relief as soon as possible.

Not only that, Wei Zhongxian also told Emperor Tianqi that the people of the world had always had a hard life, and the court should not always focus on the people's taxes. How much silver can a poor man dig in the soil to make a living? Once the people can't even fill their stomachs, the world will inevitably be in chaos.

Although the Ming Dynasty needed money, whether it was fighting in Liaodong or other areas, it could not just extort money from the people. There were so many places to make money in the world, so why should we always focus on the people? Whether it was further increasing foreign trade or increasing commercial taxes in the Jiangnan area, wouldn't it be better than getting money from the people?
In the face of Wei Zhongxian's words, Emperor Tianqi nodded in agreement after a moment's hesitation, and asked Wei Zhongxian to do it as soon as possible. A few days later, the decree on local tax reduction and disaster relief was issued. The court was so kind to the people, which was really a blessing for the people. Xu Xiancheng also changed his view of Wei Zhongxian from this incident.

Speaking of this, Xu Xiancheng couldn't help but sigh. When he was traveling through Nanjing, he met many students. In the process of communicating with the students, Xu Xiancheng learned about many situations that he had never been exposed to before. But as he learned more, Xu Xiancheng did not agree with the views and opinions of the Jiangnan students. In his opinion, many people were too boastful and their judgments on things were often based on their own interests, especially those who were close to the Donglin Party or even the Donglin lineage. He looked down on them. Many of these people were rich and talked about the people, but in fact they spent a lot of money every day, lived a life of drunkenness and dreams, and complained without illness, but they ignored the reality and only talked nonsense.

Speaking of this, Xu Xiancheng couldn't help but sigh that in terms of actual work, those people were not as good as a eunuch like Wei Zhongxian. At least as a eunuch, Wei Zhongxian could think about the common people. No matter how many evil things Wei Zhongxian did and how vicious the means he used to kill many Donglin Party members, just for this point, Wei Zhongxian was much better than many people in the world.

"So, you have a good impression of this Eunuch Wei?" Zhu Shenzhui asked with a smile.

Xu Xiancheng shook his head slightly: "I do feel a little bit, but I can't say I have a good impression of him. I just think that hearsay is not credible. Only by seeing him with your own eyes can you know what kind of person he is." "What's more, this eunuch Wei is definitely not a good person. Although he is kind to the people, he is also vicious and cruel."

"I have met many members of the Donglin Party in Jiangnan, and I have also met a few of them after arriving in the capital. It is true that there are many people in the Donglin Party who are ambitious and boastful, and there are also many who are selfish and partisan. To put it bluntly, some people's faces are really disgusting. They read the books of sages but are full of thieves and prostitutes. They say more upright things than anyone else, but what they do in secret is extremely despicable..."

Xu Xiancheng couldn't help shaking his head when he said this, but then he continued: "Even so, the Donglin Party is not without real talents, and there is no lack of talents who are loyal to the court and serve the country and the people. Let's not talk about the distant past, just take Lord Sun Chengzong who just retired and returned to his hometown. Since Lord Sun took office as the governor of Ji and Liao, his talents are known to the world. It is also because of Lord Sun in Liaodong that the political situation in Liaodong has been so stable in recent years."

"Except for Lord Sun, the former cabinet chief Ye Xianggao was also a capable person. Even Yang Lian and Zuo Guangdou, who died unjustly in prison, had some character..."

"Be careful with your words!" Before Xu Xiancheng could continue speaking, Zhu Shenzhui immediately spoke up to stop him.

It's fine to talk about Sun Chengzong and Ye Xianggao, but how can we just talk about Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others? These two people and several other Donglin Party members had been executed by Wei Zhongxian for crimes. It was not long ago that the Donglin Party suffered a heavy blow after the death of Yang Lian and others. The eunuch party headed by Wei Zhongxian was pursuing the Donglin Party relentlessly. Once people knew that Xu Xiancheng actually sympathized with Yang Lian and others, it would not be a joke.

Xu Xiancheng smiled and said, "Don't worry, brother-in-law. I'm just saying this to you. I would never say these words to anyone outside. I understand that the mouth can bring disaster."

Nodding slightly, Zhu Shenzhui asked, "Right now, the Donglin Party and the Eunuch Party are fighting fiercely in the court. Does it affect you?"

"That's not the case." Xu Xiancheng said, "I am currently observing government affairs in the Ministry of Works and in charge of the construction of the three main palaces in the palace. To put it bluntly, I am just a construction supervisor. Besides, I have not yet been officially appointed as an official, so the struggles in the court are far from me."

"but……."

"But what?"

Xu Xiancheng sighed and said, "A few of my classmates have come to see me a few times, and the scholars I met during my travels have also written to me, and their words are quite flattering."

"Are these not members of the Donglin Party?" Zhu Shenzhui asked anxiously.

"Neither count nor count." Xu Xiancheng answered like this. Seeing that Zhu Shenzhu was puzzled, he told Zhu Shenzhu that these people were not the real Donglin Party, but the literati who sympathized with the Donglin Party. After all, the Ming Dynasty valued civil officials over military officials, and the status of civil officials was very high. Even meritorious military generals were not taken seriously, let alone a eunuch?
The more powerful Wei Zhongxian became, the more obvious the influence of the eunuch party was. In this situation, except for the civil servants who had defected to the eunuch party, most of the civil servants, including scholars, were very indignant about this. This was not a question of right or wrong, but a question of stance. To be suppressed to this extent by a eunuch was considered a shame by scholars.

When Xu Xiancheng was studying in Nanjing, he met many students. At the invitation of Zhang Pu and others, they founded a school society together - Yingshe. However, this Yingshe is no longer the original Yingshe. As early as this year, Yingshe merged with several other schools and was reorganized based on Yingshe, thus getting a new name - Fushe.

The name of Fushe comes from the saying "Aiming to respect the classics and restore the past", and its purpose is to call on people to respect the classics and restore the past, to actually pursue practical use, to discuss knowledge, to improve character, to oppose empty talk, to pay close attention to social life, and to actually participate in political struggles.

From this point of view, the political philosophy of Fushe is good. After its establishment, many students from Jiangnan joined the society because of their similar ideals. The number of members increased dramatically. Now there are more than a thousand members, and it has the reputation of being the first society in Jiangnan.

Although Xu Xiancheng was not a student from Jiangnan, he was one of the founders of Yingshe, the predecessor of Fushe. Moreover, Xu Xiancheng ranked second in the autumn examination, so he naturally became an important figure in Fushe. Fushe would certainly not ignore Xu Xiancheng who was in Beijing.

(End of this chapter)