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

Chapter 364 Awakening
The group of newly-minted scholars are the future of the civil service group. As fellow literati, they naturally want to win over each other.

This is a common practice in official circles, and these are very important in official circles. Fellow townsmen, classmates, and students of the same subject are inherent advantages in forming cliques. Whether it is the Donglin Party, the Chu Party, the Zhejiang Party, or any other party, they were all formed and gradually grew stronger on this basis.

As one of them, Xu Xiancheng was also unable to avoid similar situations. When he went to Beijing to take the exam, many students who sympathized with the Donglin Party discussed government affairs, formed alliances, and criticized political affairs every day. After Xu Xiancheng passed the second place in the exam, people like him became more popular, and there was no shortage of people trying to win him over.

Moreover, Xu Xiancheng was a veteran of the Yingshe Society and one of the founders of the now famous Fushe Society in Jiangnan. After the news of his winning the second place in the imperial examination spread to Jiangnan, the Fushe members made Xu Xiancheng a propaganda target and even called him one of the "Seven Sons" within the Fushe Society.

Xu Xiancheng in the capital had no idea about this. When he received the letter from Nanjing, he was at a loss whether to laugh or cry after reading it.

Without knowing anything, he inexplicably became a propaganda banner of Fushe and was given the title of one of the Seven Sons of Fushe.

What made Xu Xiancheng even more speechless was that some people in Fushe even linked him to Gu Xiancheng, who founded Donglin Academy, because of his name. They said that Xu Xiancheng was a talented person, no less than Mr. Jingyang back then, and that the young Jinshi had a promising future. They hoped that he could lead Fushe to further advance, and that in the future he might be able to lead Fushe to restore order and reform the government and so on...

Looking at the letter, Xu Xiancheng smiled bitterly and broke out in a cold sweat. What was this? It was simply putting him on the fire. Once this reached Wei Zhongxian's ears, he would be labeled as a member of the Donglin Party. Even if he had mouths all over his body, he would not be able to explain himself.

Xu Xiancheng had no good way to deal with these attempts to win him over. After all, as a member of the literati, he could not directly refuse or oppose. If he showed such an attitude, then in the eyes of these people, Xu Xiancheng would become a person who defected to the eunuch party, and then countless spit would drown Xu Xiancheng alive.

As for running away to join Wei Zhongxian, Xu Xiancheng had never thought of doing so. Xu Xiancheng was well-read and had a deep study of history books. Ever since Emperor Zulong unified the world and the emperor was born, no eunuch had ever had a good ending in all dynasties. Even if Wei Zhongxian was in favor and powerful now, in Xu Xiancheng's opinion, Wei Zhongxian's ending would never be good and his downfall was inevitable.

Wei Zhongxian was now extremely powerful, and most of the people in the court were eunuchs. The Donglin Party, which had previously controlled the government, had been suppressed by the eunuchs and was in disarray. Especially after the deaths of Yang Lian, Zuo Guangdou and others, and the retirement of Ye Xianggao and Sun Chengzong, the Donglin Party no longer had the prestige it once had. It was only a matter of time before it was completely defeated by the eunuchs.

But after reaching its peak, there is a decline. Once the Donglin Party completely collapses, where will Wei Zhongxian go? Xu Xiancheng had never met the Tianqi Emperor before, but the current Xu Xiancheng is different. Although his contact with the Tianqi Emperor was only in the construction work, and their conversations were limited to this, Xu Xiancheng found that the Tianqi Emperor was definitely not the "incompetent ruler" as rumored. In his opinion, the Tianqi Emperor was extremely smart, and the relationship between him and Wei Zhongxian was even more inconsistent with the rumors. Thinking of some things that Zhu Shenzhu had discussed with him before, plus Xu Xiancheng's own experience and judgment over the years, he can be absolutely sure that Wei Zhongxian is nothing more than a knife in the hands of the Tianqi Emperor.

The purpose of using Wei Zhongxian by Emperor Tianqi was to deal with the Donglin Party and seize power from them. So when the Donglin Party was destroyed, Wei Zhongxian would have completed the task assigned to him. When the bird is dead, the bow is put away; when the rabbit dies, the fox mourns. Wei Zhongxian's fate was probably doomed long ago. There was no future for him to follow the eunuch party. After Emperor Tianqi dealt with the Donglin Party, it was the turn of Wei Zhongxian and his eunuch party.

The ultimate goal of Emperor Tianqi was to monopolize power and truly rule the world. Xu Xiancheng had already understood this, so he thought it would be best not to join either faction at this time. He could only stay out of it, wait for the situation to change, and make a choice at the most appropriate time. This was the safest way.

After hearing what Xu Xiancheng said, Zhu Shenzhui was a little surprised. He didn't expect Xu Xiancheng to see things so clearly and have such a clear mind.

"I came to Beijing this time because I was worried about your youthful vigor. After all, the officialdom is dangerous, and there are undercurrents in the capital. If you take a wrong step, you will end up in an irreparable situation. I didn't expect that I was overthinking. Now that you can see clearly, I am relieved."

"I am really ashamed to have caused my brother-in-law's concern." Xu Xiancheng stood up and bowed solemnly to Zhu Shenzhui.

"We are family, how can I not care about you? Besides, your sister gave you many instructions before you left, and your father-in-law and mother-in-law are also very concerned about you."

"I feel so sad that my family is worried about me..." Xu Xiancheng said with emotion.

Waving his hand and asking Xu Xiancheng to sit down, Zhu Shenzhui asked: "So, what are your plans? When you are officially appointed after the new year, are you going to stay in the capital or go to work in the local area? Do you have any ideas?"

Xu Xiancheng shook his head slightly and said, "The situation is unclear now. I can't say I have any plans. I'm just going to take it one step at a time. But don't worry, brother-in-law. I will never get involved in the muddy waters of the Donglin Party and others. The eunuch party is powerful now. If I, a newly-minted Jinshi, get involved in such a whirlpool, I'm afraid I'll end up in pieces."

"There are some problems with the Fushe Society, so we can only delay it for a while. Anyway, the Fushe Society is just making trouble in Jiangnan, and it will take some time for me to be appointed as an official. Even if I am really appointed, I am just a sixth-rank official, which is not very noticeable in the court, let alone what they call big things." "So, all parties can just pretend to be friendly and wait and see how the situation develops. This is the safest way. Besides, I am now observing the government in the Ministry of Works, and I am responsible for the construction of the three main halls. It is a good arrangement to avoid the vortex."

"So, you have been so busy these days, and even didn't go home for a few days, was it intentional?" Zhu Shenzhui couldn't help but ask.

Xu Xiancheng nodded slightly, winked at Zhu Shenzhui and smiled: "If not, how can I avoid trouble? Besides, since I eat the emperor's salary, I should work for the court. Isn't this what I should do?"

"Hahaha!" Zhu Shenzhui laughed loudly towards the sky, and Xu Xiancheng also laughed out loud.

After laughing, Xu Xiancheng told Zhu Shenzhu that he had not yet considered the matter of official appointment carefully, after all, it was not up to him to decide how to appoint an official. However, during these days in the Ministry of Works, Xu Xiancheng had some ideas about the Ministry of Works. If possible, staying in the Ministry of Works after being officially appointed might be a good place to go.

After all, the situation is not peaceful in the court or the local areas. If he goes to the local areas, he will probably be the prefect or the magistrate of a prefecture according to his rank. The situation in the local areas is not simple either. Xu Xiancheng does not have much background in the officialdom and is not sure whether he can be a good local official. Among the various government offices in the capital, the Ministry of Works is relatively pure compared to other government offices.

Besides, the renovation of the three main halls will take time, and it will take time to complete the renovation. If Xu Xiancheng stays in the Ministry of Works and continues to be in charge of the construction, it will be the best. Even if the renovation of the three main halls is completed, Xu Xiancheng can find another project to take charge of. It is safer to do something practical than to get involved in the court struggle, and it can also avoid attracting attention.

Zhu Shenzhu was very pleased with Xu Xiancheng's idea. Before he came, he was worried that Xu Xiancheng, a young scholar, would be too hot-blooded and forget his own thoughts when he entered the officialdom and get into trouble. However, he did not expect Xu Xiancheng to be more stable than he thought. He saw the situation clearly and thought clearly in his mind.

It was a right decision for him to go studying abroad. If Xu Xiancheng had not spent more than a year studying abroad, traveling all over the mountains and rivers, seeing the lives of people in various places, making friends with all kinds of people and gaining insights from them, Xu Xiancheng would probably still be a simple scholar who knew nothing.

As the old saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. This is absolutely true. It is precisely because of this that Xu Xiancheng was able to grow so quickly and has become someone that Zhu Shenzhui has admired.

After feeling relieved, the following conversation became much more relaxed. It was getting late, so Zhu Shenzhu invited Xu Xiancheng to have dinner with him and asked someone to order a table nearby. The two continued to talk while drinking.

After three rounds of drinks, Zhu Shenzhui asked about Xu Xiancheng's life in the capital. He said that he had seen the courtyard where Xu Xiancheng lived now. That place was a little far from the government office and the Forbidden City, making it inconvenient to go in and out every day. Moreover, the conditions in the courtyard were not good, so it would be better for him to live in another place.

This courtyard is my own property. If Xu Xiancheng likes it, he can give up his original residence and move here. As for daily expenses, there is no need to worry. There is everything in the courtyard and there is no need to buy anything else. This time I came to Xu Xiancheng, I brought some silver. Although it is not much, it is enough for Xu Xiancheng to live comfortably. As an official of the court and a newly-appointed Jinshi, it is not justifiable for Xu Xiancheng to live in a broken courtyard without servants around him, not to mention that his sister Xu Jingqiu also thinks so.

As he spoke, Zhu Shenzhui took out the house deed and silver that he had prepared long ago. It was impossible for Xu Xiancheng not to be moved by seeing these. His brother-in-law had helped him a lot, as it was the same when he was studying abroad, and it was the same now. Thinking of his sister whom he had not seen for two years, Xu Xiancheng's eyes could not help but become slightly moist.

But Xu Xiancheng still rejected Zhu Shenzhui's kindness. He told Zhu Shenzhui that he was not short of money. He still had some of the silver that Zhu Shenzhui had sponsored him before. Moreover, after he passed the imperial examination, he also received some gifts and resettlement fees from the court. Together with the salary from the court, it was enough for him to live in the capital.

He definitely couldn't live in the yard himself. In Xu Xiancheng's opinion, this yard was a little too good. Once he moved in to live here, it might attract attention. After all, many people knew about Xu Xiancheng's family background. It was impossible for Xu Xiancheng to buy such a good house in the capital with his financial resources.

It would be bad if someone started to investigate and found out the origin of the house. Besides, Xu Xiancheng should keep a low profile now. Although the small courtyard where he lived was shabby, it was clean. Moreover, he had lived there for some time and was familiar with the neighbors. He was used to living there. Why should he move again?
As for the silver, Xu Xiancheng did not refuse it and accepted it readily. Some silver is always good to have around, and it was specially sent by his sister and brother-in-law. If he did not accept it, it might not hurt his sister and brother-in-law's feelings.

After listening to Xu Xiancheng's explanation, Zhu Shenzhui did not persuade him anymore. He nodded, took back the house deed and left the silver. But even so, Zhu Shenzhui still left a letter to Xu Xiancheng, telling him that if he ever encountered difficulties or dangers in the capital, he could go to a certain place to find a man named Zhang Xijun for help. As long as he met the man and gave the letter to him, he would definitely help him with all his strength. This was also an insurance for Xu Xiancheng.

(End of this chapter)