Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 27: Prince Yu, the Mandate of Heaven, sacrifices his life for justice!
"Masters, please take a seat."

This matter was of great importance, so the palace maids avoided it as usual. Concubine Li had to pour the tea herself. Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng hurriedly bowed and stood aside instead of actually sitting down.

Seeing this, Concubine Li put down the teapot and tried to go to the inner room of the palace, but Prince Yu stopped her and said, "You should listen too."

After giving birth to the crown prince, Concubine Li's status in Prince Yu's Mansion has surpassed that of a principal concubine.

If there really comes a day when he enters the Forbidden City, the Crown Prince Zhu Yijun will most likely be the Crown Prince. Concubine Li, as Zhu Yijun's biological mother and the future Holy Mother Empress Dowager of the Ming Dynasty, can listen to some things.

Concubine Li was ecstatic in her heart, but her face was solemn without a smile. She sat down carefully next to Prince Yu.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng remained silent and still stood beside their chairs. They all knew what Prince Yu’s urgent decree was for and waited quietly for questioning.

Prince Yu was anxious to resolve the conflict in the cabinet, but he still started with the topic of reading books: "I have been reading the "Exerting One's Mind" chapter of Mencius recently, and there are a few obscure parts that are difficult to understand. Please enlighten me, masters."

As soon as Mencius appeared.

Gao and Zhang's cheeks twitched involuntarily.

In the eyes of scholars, Confucius was born to teach people to love others, and Mencius was born to teach people to love others, and he said the eternal truth that "people are the most important, the country is the second, and the king is the least important."

The Qin Dynasty did not respect Confucius and Mencius and perished after three generations. It was not until the time of Emperor Wen of the Han Dynasty that this truth was truly understood. He practiced respect and discipline, ruled with his subjects as the ruler and put the people first. Only then did China truly enjoy a peaceful and prosperous era for the first time.

After that, there were many changes of dynasties. Whenever the ruler and his ministers ruled together and put the people first, the world was peaceful. Whenever a ruler ruled alone, abandoned his wise ministers, and ignored the people's livelihood, the country would decline and perish.

But in the Ming Dynasty, a subtle change occurred. Emperor Taizu Gao came from a poor family, but he quickly won the world. He knew all about the sufferings of the people, punished corruption and evil, reduced taxes and levies, and brought benevolence to the world.

However, it was Emperor Taizu Gao who sowed the seeds of evil, as he actually moved the tablet of Mencius out of the Confucius Temple, simply because he did not agree with the principle of "people are the most important, the country is second, and the monarch is the least important" when governing a country, and he strictly implemented the rule of one monarch.

All the rulers after the Ming Dynasty treated the cabinet as servants and all the officials as enemies. They would attack and kill at will, delegate power to eunuchs, and rule the country with their household slaves.

The two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty were regarded as the private property of the Zhu family. This policy has been passed down to eleven emperors until today, especially the current emperor!

He had not attended court for more than twenty years, claiming to be in power in secret, but he ruled alone, using treacherous and corrupt officials to plunder the people's wealth.

How many officials who came from a scientific and technological background, those with conscience, fought for their lives but lost their lives, while those without conscience simply did the emperor's evil and flattered him.

The royal family was very greedy, and they were slightly greedy. They were united in their desire to plunder all the people's wealth. The poor people of the Ming Dynasty suffered even more. Many died from harsh rule, and many died of hunger and cold!
but.

My father, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, does not like to hear this.

No one in the world dares to say anything that the emperor or father does not like to hear, and no one in the world dares to speak out anything that the emperor or father does not like to see.

The emperor and his father hated Mencius, even more than Emperor Taizu Gao.

therefore.

In Prince Yu's Mansion, there has been no Mencius's voice symbols for many years, and many masters have never talked about Mencius's teachings.

Prince Yu, who had been suppressed for many years, finally had the idea of ​​rebelling against his emperor and father after gaining the support of most of the civil servants of the Ming Dynasty, including Yan's father and son, Xu Jie, etc.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other, and when they saw Prince Yu speak so boldly, they immediately realized that Prince Yu was letting himself go.

Your Highness, you are not the crown prince yet!

The emperor of the Ming Dynasty was like the rising sun, overlooking the two capitals and thirteen provinces.

The most crucial point is that Prince Yu has not seen the emperor’s body, but the cabinet has seen it.

Compared to Prince Yu's body which could be destroyed at any moment, my father has made great progress in practicing Taoism and restored his youthful dragon body. He might be able to rule the Ming Dynasty for another forty years.

Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng sighed worriedly.

"Taiyue, you have delved deeply into Mencius's teachings, so you can answer His Majesty's questions." Gao Gong stepped back half a step. Zhang Juzheng's cheek twitched again, and he wanted to say "I can't do that either", but Prince Yu was above him, so he could only say: "Please ask Your Majesty for instructions."

"Mencius said, 'Nothing is beyond fate; one must accept it as it is. Therefore, those who know their fate do not stand under a rock wall. Those who die after fulfilling their duty have a proper fate; those who die in fetters and chains do not have a proper fate.'" What does this mean, Master Zhang?" Prince Yu said.

Zhang Juzheng understood clearly that this was not Prince Yu asking about books, but was clearly using Mencius to educate him and Gao Gong. However, he pretended not to know and replied, "Your Highness, this is a good question. Mencius is talking about destiny.

Nothing is not destiny. Obey destiny and accept your normal fate.

Therefore, those who understand destiny will not stand under a dangerous wall.

Death for doing one's best to be a good person is a normal fate, but death for committing a crime and being punished is not a normal fate."

Gao Gong stood with his head bowed, and suddenly an indescribable sadness surged in his heart.

I don’t know what kind of magic potion Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan gave Prince Yu that made him believe that he was the man destined by heaven and he kept talking about destiny.

It is destiny to obey Prince Yu, it is destiny to obey Yan Song, Xu Jie and Yan Shifan, and you will have a good ending.

If you do not obey Prince Yu, Yan Song, Xu Jie, and Yan Shifan, you are going against the will of heaven, and you will be punished and killed sooner or later.

Among all the masters who had worked in Prince Yu's Mansion in the past, Gao Gong considered himself one of the masters who was familiar with Prince Yu. He had always thought that Prince Yu would be a diligent and wise monarch after becoming emperor.

Now, Gao Gong no longer dared to think so.

Prince Yu knew everything about what kind of people Yan Song and Yan Shifan were, and what kind of trouble Xu Jie's Songjiang Prefecture Xu family had caused in Jiangnan.

But in order to gain the support of Yan's father and son, and in order to gain the support of Xu Jie, Prince Yu chose to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear.

Can a person who walks with evil like this really become a wise and benevolent monarch?

Regardless of what Gao Gong thought, the question and answer between Prince Yu and Zhang Juzheng continued. Seeing that Zhang Juzheng was pretending to be confused, Prince Yu simply asked more directly: "Master Zhang, if a gentleman is already under a dangerous wall, did Mencius give a way to escape from danger?"

"Prevent disasters before they happen so as not to hurt your feelings later. Be prudent in your actions and be wise. A gentleman will not stand under a dangerous wall, so how can he take it lightly?"

Zhang Juzheng knew what Prince Yu wanted to say, and explained: "A gentleman should stay away from dangerous places. This includes two aspects: one is to take precautions before they happen, to be aware of potential dangers in advance, and to take preventive measures; the other is to leave in time once you find yourself in a dangerous situation."

Hear the words.

Prince Yu nodded in agreement, then stared at Zhang Juzheng and Gao Gong.

The two immediately understood what Prince Yu meant.

Standing against the civil officials in the court is like standing under a dangerous wall. Since Gao and Zhang knew the danger, instead of taking precautions, they stood under a dangerous wall. The next step is to leave in time.

Prince Yu is kind.

He promised the Yan family that they would remain prosperous in the future, but the only condition was that Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng leave the court safely.

In the previous mutual impeachment, Yan Song, Xu Jie and Yan Shifan suffered heavy losses, and the situation was that they would not stop until one of them died. It took a lot of effort for Prince Yu to be willing to let the two go.

As long as Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng were willing to resign and return home, they could have a chance to survive, and Ge Shouli and others who had been arrested could also have a chance to survive.

Even if you don't think about yourself, you should think about your close friends.

Gao Gong suddenly raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I think you haven't read the first chapter of Mencius yet.

Prince, "Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want. I cannot have both, so I would rather sacrifice life for righteousness."

(End of this chapter)