Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 270 Different ways do not work together

Li Mengyang was straightforward and stubborn, and such a person was not suitable to be an official. Because of his personality, he and his good friend He Jingming eventually parted ways.

As time went by, He Jingming gradually began to suspect that their philosophy seemed to have gone astray. Retro does not mean simply denying current culture and advocating ancient culture.

It was because of the differences in ideas between He Jingming and Li Mengyang that Li Mengyang gradually began to deny and criticize He Jingming, and eventually the two close friends broke up completely.

Chen Ce knew all these things, and through them he could roughly understand Li Mengyang's character.

Chen Ce never expected that Li Mengyang would come here today, so he could only patiently say to Li Mengyang: "I haven't been an official in the court yet, but I have made friends with several officials."

Li Mengyang said "oh" and couldn't help but look down on Chen Ce. He was so arrogant and showed off just because he had a few connections. This person was not fit for big things.

This is Li Mengyang’s evaluation of Chen Ce.

Chen Ce naturally didn't care what Li Mengyang was thinking, and asked Wang Wubi: "Master Wang, do you think the southwest is suffering and difficult to govern?"

"But Lord Wang, have you ever thought that if you stay in the capital to fill the vacancy without any connections, the place you will eventually be transferred to will still be a remote small town."

This is the tacit rule in official circles. If the top three Jinshi candidates do not enter the Hanlin Academy, they will mostly observe government affairs in the six ministries and other government offices. If you have someone above you, they can arrange for you to get a job in a wealthy place, starting as an eighth-rank county magistrate and slowly gaining experience.

If you don't have any connections, you will have to wait one or two years or even longer for a vacancy to be filled, and eventually you will be transferred to a remote area.

This is the future of the top three Jinshi.

Chen Ce was very good at knowing how to say the right thing to the right person. You can talk about your ideals and ambitions with Wang Shouren.

But for a layman like Wang Wubi, you can only talk to him about future development.

The southwest needs manpower. If nothing unexpected happens, Emperor Hongzhi will definitely not recruit any officials to the southwest unless Emperor Hongzhi forces the officials to go to the southwest.

But if they were forced to go there like this, even if they went to the southwest, they would become a burden to Wang Shouren and would not give him any help. In the end, it would not only be of no benefit to the governance of the southwest, but would be counterproductive.

Chen Ce continued, "The southwest is certainly difficult to govern, but there are more opportunities and it is easier to achieve political achievements. The current emperor has set his sights on the southwest."

"Everyone wants to avoid the southwest. Your Majesty knows that no one wants to go to the southwest, so why did he spread the news?"

Wang Wubi hesitated for a moment, then said, "The emperor wants to completely change the southwest from the bottom of his heart."

Chen Ce nodded: "That's why I said, this is a great opportunity. Instead of gaining experience in the capital, why not go to the southwest and make some achievements, so that you can be noticed by the emperor?"

Wang Wubi fell into deep thought.

Li Mengyang suddenly snorted and said, "What nonsense! Nonsense!"

"Brother Wang, do you really think this is an opportunity? There are so many smart people in the court, but none of them can see the truth behind this. Is it only Master Chen who can see it?"

"Of course the Southwest will be valued and noticed by the Emperor. This is true because the Southwest is in chaos and the Emperor is keeping an eye on it."

"But is it really easy to achieve political achievements in the southwest? There are a lot of natives and chieftains there. The chieftains have controlled the natives for hundreds of years, and all kinds of forces are intertwined. If you, a Han official, go to manage the natives, those chieftains will obstruct you in every possible way. Those natives are not the simple and kind people of the Ming Dynasty. How can they listen to your management as a Han official?"

Chen Ce hated such people the most. Not only did he not have the courage to expand the territory, but he also attacked others' morale behind their backs and said some sarcastic words. Chen Ce glanced at Li Mengyang indifferently. Just as he was about to speak, He Jingming shook his head and said, "Brother Tianci, this is wrong."

"The southwest is the territory of our Ming Dynasty, and the local people are also the people of our Ming Dynasty. It is precisely because the situation in the southwest is complicated that we need people with lofty ideals to solve it."

"If everyone seeks profit and avoids harm, then who will solve the problems in the southwest? Will they leave it to our future generations?"

Li Mengyang glanced at He Jingming in surprise. He really didn't expect that his good friend would speak for an outsider. He couldn't help but get angry and said, "Our future generations will not be affected by the disaster in the southwest."

Chen Ce said indifferently: "Master Li, what you said is very good. You are a scholar who has studied hard for decades to take the imperial examination. How come you have forgotten all the noble ambitions you set when you heard the cock-crow and danced? After becoming an official, how could you forget all of them?"

"Cultivate oneself, govern the country, regulate the family, and bring peace to the world. A gentleman cherishes virtue, while a villain cherishes land; a gentleman cherishes punishment, while a villain cherishes favor."

"These are all famous sayings. I believe you read them all when you were in school. Do you still remember them now?"

Li Mengyang scolded: "You said I am a villain?"

Chen Ce said calmly: "Not really. I was just making an analogy. I just wanted to ask whether the ambitions you set before the imperial examination were worn down after you became an official."

"Haven't you always been advocating that prose must be from the Qin and Han dynasties, and poetry must be from the Tang dynasty? Haven't you always been vocally opposing the official style, and that you think the eight-part essay restricts people's thinking?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "No, neither the official style nor the eight-part essay constrained people's thoughts. It was you who constrained yourself. You are worried that you will not be able to achieve political achievements in the southwest and will waste your time. In fact, you want to criticize the emperor, impeach the powerful, and even some decisions of the cabinet."

"Because this way you can become famous, right?"

When his little thought was hit by Chen Ce's few words, Li Mengyang's face turned red with anger. Isn't this just a veiled criticism, calling himself a hypocrite?

Li Mengyang shouted coldly: "Nonsense!"

"Okay, even if it's as you said, Brother Wang can go to the southwest, what about Bo Hu and the others? They are just juren, can you recommend them to go to the southwest?"

Chen Ce nodded and said, "Yes."

“I want to recommend them to go, and they can go!”

At this moment, Chen Ce showed his sharp edge. He was like a sword that had been covered in dust for many years and had never been unsheathed, but after being unsheathed, its edge was still dazzling!
Li Mengyang sneered and snorted, "You are so arrogant! Even the cabinet doesn't dare to guarantee it, how can you?"

"I'm putting this on the table today. If you can recommend them to go to the southwest together, I'll call you Master Chen in public!"

Seeing that the differences between Chen Ce and Li Mengyang were growing bigger and bigger, Tang Yin, Wen Zhengming, Wang Wubi and others hurried forward to persuade them.

However, Li Mengyang was a straightforward person. He waved his sleeves and said, "I would rather not attend today's gathering! We cannot work together if we do not share the same ideals!"

Looking at Li Mengyang's angry back as he left, Tang Yin and the others looked at each other, feeling a little embarrassed.

Especially Tang Yin. Chen Ce didn't invite He Jingming and Li Mengyang. It was Tang Yin who invited them. Tang Yin said to Chen Ce embarrassedly: "This..."

Chen Ce held his hands and said to Tang Yin and Wen Zhengming, "Don't be influenced by him. Think carefully about my suggestion."

(End of this chapter)