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

Chapter 271: Responding to the Imperial Edict

Wang Wubi thought for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Chen, I want to go to the southwest!"

Chen Ce nodded slightly, but still said to Wang Wubi: "Master Wang, you have to think carefully. Going to the southwest will bring both opportunities and dangers. It is the best way to train people and also the best way to temper their minds. The southwest is full of hardships. If you don't have enough willpower and persistence, don't just agree to my request."

Wang Wubi nodded heavily: "I've thought about it!"

Just as Chen Ce said, he didn't know how long it would take for him to become an official in the capital. If he followed the routine, how many years would he have to wait to get promoted?

The southwest is a place with both opportunities and challenges. Every move you make is being watched by the emperor. One year in the southwest is equivalent to three years or even longer in other places.

Anyway, in the end, as a top-ranking Jinshi, the best he would be assigned to a remote area to be a county magistrate. Instead of that, why not choose the southwest?

Chen Ce looked at Tang Yin and the other three again. Tang Yin had already developed a calm temperament at Shuntian Express. There were still two or three years before the next imperial examination. Naturally, he wanted to go to the southwest to hone his skills as a grassroots official and lay the foundation for his future official career.

But he was more worried. He was just a juren. Was he qualified to be an official in the southwest?
After hearing what Chen Ce said, Zhu Zhishan had been eager to try. He had failed the imperial examinations many times in the past years, which had made him lose confidence in the imperial examinations. This was an opportunity. If he could go to the southwest to serve as an official while studying, it would not be a bad thing.

He was worried about the same thing as Tang Yin. Would he, with his status as a juren, really be transferred to the southwest to be an official? He didn't want to be just a clerk by then.

Wen Zhengming and Xu Zhenqing were both arrogant and proud. They had different ideas from Tang Yin and Zhu Zhishan. They both believed that they would pass the next imperial examination and were not very interested in going to the southwest.

Chen Ce did not force them, but just looked at Wen Zhengming deeply and finally said nothing.

Xu Zhenqing endured two terms of six years and finally passed the imperial examination in the 18th year of Hongzhi, but Wen Zhengming had no hope in his life.

This opportunity has been missed. Since he is unwilling, Chen Ce will naturally not force him. Everyone has their own choice. Forcing them to go will be counterproductive. Everyone has their own aspirations.

Chen Ce said to Tang Yin and Zhu Zhishan: "Don't worry, I said you can go to the southwest."

Wen Zhengming and Xu Zhenqing bowed and said, "Mr. Chen, we will not participate."

Chen Ce hummed lightly.

He Jingming also bowed to Chen Ce and said, "Mr. Chen, Brother Tianci is outspoken and quick-tempered. Don't bother with him."

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "No."

"Mr. He, it is good to oppose the mediocre poetry style of the Taige style, and the intention is good, but blindly pursuing the past is not a good thing. Retro style and innovation are the needs of the times."

"It is not necessarily true that there will be no one in the Ming Dynasty who can write good poems or lyrics."

"The Yangtze River rolls eastward, its waves wash away all heroes. Success and failure are all in vain, but the green mountains remain, and the sunsets are red again."

"In April, the spring silkworms have already shed their silk, and the wind and sun have trapped people. I don't know how many nights of sleep I have wasted on weaving the mandarin duck brocade."

He Jingming looked at Chen Ce in amazement. He was stunned for a moment, then his whole face became full of admiration. After savoring it carefully, he couldn't help but said with full conviction: "Mr. Chen... good words! Good poem!"

Chen Ce smiled and said, "I didn't do this. I just want to tell you that retro and innovation should be what people like you should advocate, rather than just going back to the past."

"Can you apply the feudal system of the Spring and Autumn Period to the county system of the Qin Dynasty? Can you change the imperial examination system of the Song and Ming Dynasties into the nine-rank system of the Eastern Jin Dynasty?"

"You always say that the imperial examination system constrains people's thinking, but why have you never thought that the birth of the imperial examination system can provide a channel for poor families to rise?"

"Otherwise, now you, all of you, me, and countless others like us are born the way we are, so who can stand here and criticize the exhaustion of the imperial examination system?"

He Jingming was stunned.

At first he thought that Chen Ce's two lines of poetry had already demonstrated his talent and ambition, but only now did he understand that in his mind, poetry was just a minor thing, and he was looking at the development of the entire country!
Such lofty aspirations and visions simply make them as small as dust! Yes, if China still has the Nine-Rank System or the Recommendation System, then the future China will fall into the same caste system as India, where the nobles will always be nobles and the common people will never stand up.

Perhaps a system may have some drawbacks, which is understandable, but we cannot simply deny the benefits that the system brings to the country. This is unfair to the people who developed the system.

……

Recently, the Zhang brothers are still acting arrogantly and high-profile. Ever since they won the war in the southwest, these two guys have become more arrogant than before. They have recruited a group of scoundrels to bully men and women, seize other people's land... and do all kinds of evil.

No one in the entire capital dared to provoke the Zhang brothers. They even dared to slap the top scholar. There was nothing else these two brothers could not do.

But Emperor Hongzhi loved the Zhang brothers and turned a blind eye to their misdeeds.

Li Mengyang really couldn't stand it anymore. He was already in a bad mood today. When he left Wang Wubi's mansion, he drank some wine in the evening. So that night he wrote a letter "Responding to the Imperial Edict" and submitted it directly to the cabinet.

This memorial directly listed the "two diseases, three harms, and six gradual changes" of the two Zhangs, and bluntly stated that the Zhang brothers "recruited scoundrels, recruited thieves and civilians, seized people's land, demolished people's houses, kidnapped people's children, intercepted merchants' goods, occupied the salt tax, ran rampant on the rivers, raised the yellow flag, and were as powerful as a winged tiger."

The memorial was submitted to the cabinet, which naturally handed it over to Emperor Hongzhi.

Emperor Hongzhi still turned a blind eye, but the memorial eventually reached the ears of the Zhang brothers.

Zhang Mansion.

"That's unreasonable!"

"audacious in the extreme!"

"This Li Mengyang, a small official in the Ministry of Revenue, actually slandered you and me, the great hero who pacified the southwest? Are you tired of living?"

"Too arrogant!"

The two brothers were so angry that their faces turned red. They snorted and Zhang Yanling said, "I'm going to beat the shit out of him!"

Zhang Heling calmly pulled his impulsive second brother and shook his head, saying, "Don't be impulsive. These scholars are just cheap bones. The more you trample on them, the happier they are. If we are like them, we will lose."

"These people are famous this way. Don't fall into their trap. Remember, second brother, those who have a heart as strong as thunder but a face as calm as a lake can be worshipped as generals. Keep calm."

Zhang Yanling thought that his elder brother was really calm and composed. He could still maintain this mentality at this time. He was worthy of being a man who could do great things.

"Well, then I won't bother with this guy."

"Oh, big brother." Zhang Yanling seemed to have thought of something.

Zhang Heling took a sip of tea and asked calmly, "What?"

Zhang Yanling said, "I heard today that the emperor wants to select officials to govern the southwest."

Zhang Heling said with a fierce look on his face: "What does it have to do with us? Do you have anyone to recommend?"

Zhang Yanling said, "No, do you remember? That day, Chen Ce asked us if we still wanted to go to the southwest. We said yes. Do you think this guy would recommend us to go to the southwest?"

puff!
Zhang Heling spat out a mouthful of tea, his body trembled, and his face suddenly changed!

(End of this chapter)