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

Chapter 905 Get to the point
Zhu Shenzui seemed very happy after deciding on two new teachers for the teaching hall. He continued to chat with Sun Chengzong on the previous topic.

"Sir, as you are from the Donglin lineage, you should know everyone in Donglin?" Zhu Shenzhui suddenly asked.

Sun Chengzong's heart was slightly moved, and he replied calmly, "Your Majesty, although I am a member of the Donglin lineage, it is not as rumored. To be honest, I am a Donglin party member only because of the former Prime Minister Fang Ruyu. I am on good terms with Fang Ruyu, who is also a Donglin man, so I am counted as a Donglin party member. In fact, from a practical point of view, I am just a Donglin member in name only."

Zhu Shenzhui laughed immediately. Sun Chengzong was right. Sun Chengzong and Fang Congzhe were good friends, and Fang Congzhe was the chief minister of the cabinet at that time, the backbone and leader of the Donglin Party. Because of their personal relationship, Sun Chengzong was counted as a member of the Donglin Party, but in fact it was a bit reluctant to say that Sun Chengzong was a member of the Donglin Party, but he never denied it. After all, Sun Chengzong became an official late, and the power of the Donglin Party was huge at that time. If he did not have some background, he would not be able to hold the position in the court.

In addition, after Sun Chengzong became the teacher of Emperor Tianqi, he began to rise to prominence and quickly became the governor of Ji and Liao in the Ming Dynasty, thus becoming an important official in the court.

At that time, Wei Zhongxian began to emerge, and the eunuch party with Wei Zhongxian as the core gradually formed. In order to help Emperor Tianqi consolidate the imperial power, Wei Zhongxian took action to suppress the Donglin Party. The Donglin Party began to be strongly suppressed. In order to fight against Wei Zhongxian, the Donglin Party also took a fancy to Sun Chengzong's transcendent status in front of Emperor Tianqi. For this reason, they tried to win over Sun Chengzong to serve the Donglin Party in order to compete with Wei Zhongxian. In this way, Sun Chengzong became a signboard of the Donglin Party.

"No matter what, people in the world don't think so. I'm afraid it's hard for you to explain it clearly, right?"

Sun Chengzong nodded silently. Zhu Shenzui hit the nail on the head. Ever since he became friends with Fang Congzhe, he could not get rid of the traces of the Donglin Party. No matter what the actual situation was, people all over the world would see him as a member of the Donglin Party, and Sun Chengzong could not deny this fact.

Sighing, Sun Chengzong said, "The clear ones are clear and the turbid ones are turbid. I am an old minister who only follows my heart. What does it matter if it is Donglin or not? I don't need to distinguish."

"That's true." Zhu Shenzhui nodded and said, "But some things are not what we want, and we have no other choice. When you were highly valued by the late emperor and took charge of Liaodong, Donglin certainly helped you, but when you left Liaodong, it was also because of Donglin."

Sun Chengzong sighed lightly. Yes, he was both successful and failed because of Donglin. If he did not have the background of Donglin Party, he would not have been able to become the governor of Ji-Liao. But the problem was that because of Donglin Party, he, Sun Chengzong, was eventually involved in court disputes and was forced to leave Liaodong. It was not a regret.

But the question is why did Zhu Shenzhu suddenly mention these past events? Those things happened many years ago. Now he is nearly eighty years old. Although he was called back to the capital again and became the chief teacher of the teaching hall, Sun Chengzong did not continue to hold an actual position in the court. Some things in the court had nothing to do with him. Besides teaching the crown prince and the king of Song in the palace every day, he basically did not see outsiders after returning home, and did not interact with officials in the capital. Today, Zhu Shenzhu talked about Donglin all the time, which made Sun Chengzong think of something.

Just when Sun Chengzong was deep in thought, Zhu Shenzui asked him a question. He was asking him what he, as a member of the Donglin Party, thought of the Donglin Party, especially the Donglin Party's current actions and views in various aspects in the court and local areas.

As Zhu Shenzhui asked this question, Sun Chengzong's heart suddenly tightened, and he lowered his head slightly to think about what Zhu Shenzhui wanted to do. Could it be that Zhu Shenzhui came to see him today not for the teaching hall, and did not want to discuss with him the selection of the teaching hall master? His real purpose was to attack the Donglin Party?

Sun Chengzong had always known that Zhu Shenzhu was a strong emperor. How could an emperor who ascended the throne by force be compared with an ordinary emperor? Since its establishment, the Donglin Party had a great influence on the country. Moreover, it had been deeply rooted in the court and the local areas for decades and had become a political force that could not be ignored.

Although the Donglin Party was suppressed during the reigns of Emperors Tianqi and Chongzhen, especially when the former almost wiped out the entire Donglin Party with Wei Zhongxian, the Donglin Party still managed to survive. Moreover, Sun Chengzong, a member of the Donglin lineage, knew the potential of the Donglin Party better than outsiders. The real power of the Donglin Party lay in the local areas, especially in the provinces of Jiangnan. In addition, the combination with local gentry and businessmen made the Donglin Party extremely powerful.

Facing the emperor's question, Sun Chengzong had to answer. He thought for a moment and explained the actual situation of the Donglin Party to Zhu Shenzhu. Sun Chengzong did not cover up or whitewash, but told the truth and expressed his views on the Donglin Party from a relatively fair perspective.

Sun Chengzong told Zhu Shenzhu that the Donglin Party was actually just a school of scholars united by knowledge and political views, not a real party. The origin of the Donglin Party was the Donglin Academy, which was founded in the first year of the Zhenghe reign of the Northern Song Dynasty, but was later abandoned due to war. It was not until the 32nd year of the Wanli reign that Gu Xiancheng and others rebuilt the academy and gave lectures there that it was restored.

When Gu Xiancheng was lecturing at Donglin Academy, he put forward his political views and wrote a famous couplet, which later became the motto of the so-called Donglin Party.

Because of the influence of Gu Xiancheng's thoughts, students who later agreed with his political views gathered in Donglin Academy, talked about current affairs, pointed out the situation, and wrote articles, taking the world as their own responsibility, thus forming the later Donglin Party. From this point of view, in fact, the Donglin Party is not much different from ordinary schools. The difference is that because of the huge influence of Donglin Academy and the fact that these students entered the officialdom one after another, a new political group was formed around Donglin Academy, and they gathered together to keep warm, which evolved into the later Donglin Party. The political views of the Donglin Party are essentially fine, but no matter how good the political views are, they are different through everyone's understanding. In addition to the differences between people, as well as the rights and interests, the Donglin Party has been mixed for decades. There are Donglin Party members who are truly for the country and the people, but there are more people who are called Donglin Party members.

Sun Chengzong said: "In my opinion, there is no Donglin or other parties in the world. They are just groups formed by region, school, place of origin, etc. In fact, this situation has existed for a long time, such as fellow townsmen, classmates, classmates, teachers and students, etc. It's just that things changed later, and the political views became different, and it became what it is now."

"Haha, the party unites to attack the dissidents." Zhu Shenzhui said with a smile.

Sun Chengzong nodded silently. He did not deny this point. It was the faction's ganging up on dissidents that led to the subsequent situation. People from different parties also fought for the sake of fighting and had long deviated from their original ideas. Sun Chengzong was also dissatisfied with this.

"Sir, I would like to ask you something."

"I dare not ask for advice, but I will do my best to answer your questions."

"What I'm asking is, if I want to take action against the Donglin Party and completely eradicate this party, what do you think about this, sir?" Zhu Shenzui said in a very normal tone something that made Sun Chengzong feel like he was struck by lightning. Sun Chengzong's body shook slightly and his face changed instantly. He looked at Zhu Shenzui with a complicated look, as well as astonishment, and a hint of bewilderment and helplessness.

Sun Chengzong stood up and bowed to Zhu Shenzhui, saying with a slight tremor in his voice: "Your Majesty, I apologize. If Your Majesty wants to do this, I will never agree. This has nothing to do with my relationship with the Donglin Party. If Your Majesty wants to take action against the Donglin Party, it will be like provoking the Party Imprisonment Disaster. Once this is done, it will inevitably cause a major change, and chaos will be imminent. I beg Your Majesty to revoke your order."

"What? Are you, Sun Chengzong, afraid that I will take action against you? Are you trying to cherish your life?" Zhu Shenzui looked at the old minister coldly and asked.

Sun Chengzong smiled bitterly and said, "I am nearly eighty years old and have lived long enough. If Your Majesty wants to deal with me, I will give my life to Your Majesty. But the reason why I oppose Your Majesty's move is not for myself, nor for the Donglin lineage, but for the country and people of our Ming Dynasty! Our Ming Dynasty has finally had a wise ruler like Your Majesty. Now that the internal troubles have been resolved and the Liaodong battlefield has stabilized, it is a great opportunity for the country to recuperate, restore national strength and even revive."

"Once Your Majesty takes action against the Donglin Party, it will inevitably cause a stir. This is no small matter. I know that Your Majesty is dissatisfied with the factional struggles in the court and has always intended to rectify the court system to consolidate the imperial power. I agree with this in my heart, but I also think that some things must not be rushed. The monarch should put the overall situation first and act more prudently. As I said just now, it is true that the Donglin lineage has its flaws, but not all people in the Donglin lineage are like this. There are still many upright people who serve the country, and there are also capable ministers. Your Majesty dealt with them all without distinction, even if Your Majesty holds the military power, but once you do this, the consequences will be extremely serious."

"For the sake of the Ming Dynasty and Your Majesty, it is not a pity for me to die alone, but I do not want Your Majesty to make a big mistake because of my own selfish thoughts, which will lead to chaos in the world!"

"Sun Chengzong, I understand what you said, but I think you are also aware of the current situation. I have been on the throne for many years. The north is relatively stable, but you also know the situation in the south. Especially the Donglin Party, who are arrogant, forming cliques, winning over local people, colluding with each other, and pretending to obey the court but secretly disobeying it. If this continues, will the Ming Dynasty still be my Ming Dynasty? In this case, what do you want me to do? Can I turn a blind eye and turn a deaf ear to it and allow them to split the country?"

Sun Chengzong secretly groaned in his heart. What Zhu Shenzui said was true, and he did not deny it.

The Donglin Party's base in the south is indeed huge, and from the time Zhu Shenzhui became regent to now as emperor, the attitude of the southern part of the Ming Dynasty towards the central government has indeed been lip service. Zhu Shenzhui will never give up if this problem is not resolved.

The emperor would be willing to let this situation continue. If after a few years, the Ming Dynasty was actually divided into north and south, and the imperial decrees could not reach the south at all, then would the Ming Dynasty in the south still be the territory of the Ming Dynasty? Would those officials and people still be the people of the Ming Dynasty? If Sun Chengzong was Zhu Shenzhu, he would not let this situation continue.

But the problem is that if Zhu Shenzhui really did it, it would not be a trivial matter. If he directly suppressed the South with force, bloody storms would be unavoidable. Although the Donglin Party would be uprooted, there were also loyal and patriotic people in the Donglin Party! Could it be that these people would also be buried with him?
Moreover, war is likely to break out later. If the confrontation between the North and the South breaks out, the Ming Dynasty will fall into civil strife again, and Huang Taiji in Liaodong is still eyeing it covetously. At that time, there is even the possibility of the country being destroyed. How could Sun Chengzong let this situation happen?
(End of this chapter)