I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 232 A Showdown in Prison! Official Historian Shen Nian vs. Unofficial Historian Wang Shizhen

Around noon, the winter sun shone brightly.

The snow from the previous days has gradually melted, and the streets of the capital have returned to their former bustling and lively appearance.

However, the prison remained cold and damp.

Shen Nian, dressed in a scarlet official robe, appeared before Wang Shizhen and his twelve students.

Wang Shizhen, who was sitting cross-legged, looked displeased when she saw Shen Nian. She immediately supported herself with her hands, moved her body, and chose to sit facing the wall.

The reason he harbored such malice towards Shen Nian was...

On the one hand, Shen Nian's speech at the Hundred Schools of Thought Forum changed the views of many scholars and officials towards the court and Zhang Juzheng; on the other hand, Shen Nian's current career path would make him a second Zhang Juzheng, or even more powerful than Zhang Juzheng.

This action is a destruction of Confucian tradition and is shaking the foundations of the Ming Dynasty.

Shen Nian was not too surprised by Wang Shizhen's attitude of "turning his back on him".

He smiled slightly and walked to the twelve young students in the next cell.

Although these students had never seen Shen Nian before, they noticed that the newcomer was so young and dressed in a scarlet official robe.

That could only be one person.

"Shen Nian Shen Ziheng, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and concurrently a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy, was called the 'Little Grand Secretary' by countless scholars."

Although Wang Shizhen told these young students that Shen Nian would become the second Zhang Juzheng.

However, Shen Nian's remarks, such as "the people are the most important, it is better to make the officials suffer than the common people suffer, so that all the people in the world can have enough to eat," also reached their ears.

They admired and envied Shen Nian for achieving such great success in his official career at such a young age.

As a scholar from Jiangnan said when Shen Nian was promoted to Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue: "In the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty, there is not a single young scholar who does not want to become Shen Nian!"

Shen Nian sized up these young students, looking at their fleeting, sincere yet foolish eyes, and decided to teach them a lesson first.

"You are very brave! You traveled thousands of miles to accompany your mentor to the capital to confront the Grand Secretary and the Grand Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. The young people of our Great Ming should have this kind of courage, unafraid of death for the justice they believe in. I hope that you will maintain this original aspiration in the future, whether you enter officialdom or other professions!"

Upon hearing this, the students were not delighted by the praise; instead, their eyes were filled with wariness.

Shen Nian immediately guessed that Wang Shizhen must have spoken ill of her, claiming that she was cunning and eloquent, and could lead people into traps with just a few words.

Shen Nian smiled faintly and continued, "These are my honest thoughts. Believe it or not, it's up to you!"

Shen Nian acknowledged their courage, but did not believe their choice was correct.

Then, Shen Nian glanced at Wang Shizhen.

"Your mentor has his back to me, clearly unwilling to communicate with me. In that case, I can only give you a lesson. I think I'm qualified to teach you!"

Shen Nian did not refer to himself as "this official" in front of them, which already showed that he had put himself in a very humble position.

As a third-rank official of the imperial court, an instructor of the Hanlin Academy's probationary scholars, and a lecturer at the current emperor's lectures, it was truly a stroke of good fortune for these people to teach them.

If they hadn't gone to Beijing with Wang Shizhen and caused such a commotion, they would never have had the chance to be so close to Shen Nian in their entire lives.

"When I lecture, you may remain silent, turn around to cooperate with your teacher, or even cover your ears, but I believe you will not do that. Since the Hundred Schools of Thought, the young students of my Great Ming have all known that listening is more important than speaking. After listening to my lecture, you may know better how to refute me!"

Shen Nian looked around and found that no one turned around, and no one covered their ears.

These people are well-versed in the classics.

They knew that as juniors, they had no right to behave disrespectfully in front of Shen Nian.

Shen Nian took a step forward, placing her hands behind her back.

"Do you know why the imperial court is implementing these new reforms?" Shen Nian looked around and answered himself, "Because if we don't reform, our Great Ming Dynasty will be finished!"

“Since the late Jiajing period, the rule of law has been neglected and discipline has been disrupted. Young scholars have controlled the government, the younger generation has oppressed the older generation, the people are not afraid of the authorities, and it is common for rioters to smash and destroy government offices. It is almost a complete collapse of morality and social order. The root cause is land annexation, the inequality between the rich and the poor, and the fact that the lower classes have difficulty learning and understanding reason, so they can only become vagrants who neither farm nor harvest.”

"If the imperial court wants to change this situation, first of all, the national treasury must be full. Only with money can the borders be secure, and only then can refugees and disaster victims be comforted and prevented from turning into mobs..."

"From the seventh year of Jiajing to the fifth year of Longqing, the annual revenue and expenditure of the imperial treasury of our dynasty were never in surplus. The court was often short of funds to pay salaries to officials and provide military expenses for the border troops. Therefore, the court initiated a series of new policies and measures, such as the national land survey, the post station regulations, the performance evaluation system, and the Single Whip Law."

"You may not know this, but in addition to these measures taken by the people, the imperial court has been constantly cutting back on the production of imperial textiles, reducing spending on imperial festivals and banquets, reducing large-scale construction projects, and curbing the misappropriation of land and grain by princes and nobles. They are all squeezing money out of every possible means!"

"You may not know that after the implementation of the new policy, the income of the Imperial Granary has increased from about two million taels of silver during the Jiajing and Longqing periods to more than four million taels last year. The grain stored in the granaries in the capital is enough to supply the officers and soldiers of the Beijing Garrison for six years."

……

"I can say with certainty that the Ming Dynasty is now moving towards its most prosperous state since its founding, and the greatest contributor to all of this is Grand Secretary Zhang!"

"You criticize him for monopolizing power, disrupting the government, and undermining imperial authority, but you don't know how precious it was that when the emperor was young and the country was in turmoil, and no one in the court could make decisions, he stood up and turned the tide, which was so valuable for the stability of the country!"

“You criticize him for suppressing officials and forcing free speech, but you don’t realize that if rumors are allowed to spread throughout the court and the country, the Ming Dynasty will be unstable and the country will be on the verge of collapse. The Tatars in the north and the Japanese pirates in the southeast may take the opportunity to cause trouble!”

“You criticize him for nepotism and forming cliques, but you don’t know that any of the officials he appointed were capable people, such as Qi Jiguang, Li Chengliang, and Zhang Xueyan. Which one of them was incapable of fulfilling his current duties!”

……

"Grand Secretary Zhang is not a saint and cannot be without faults, but his merits outweigh his flaws. At present, only he has the courage and ability to lead the court officials and the people of the world to save the Ming Dynasty and make it prosperous!"

"I'm not boasting about Grand Secretary Zhang's achievements, but rather that he didn't have to do this."

"He could have chosen not to implement the performance evaluation system, so that officials across the country would not have cursed him so bitterly, and scholars across the country could have easily become officials after entering the civil service."

"He could have chosen not to conduct a nationwide land survey. With his power, the Zhang family could have easily acquired millions of acres of fertile land, ensuring the family's prosperity for generations without offending the powerful clans, gentry, and landlords of the country."

"He could have returned to court after twenty-seven months of mourning, because His Majesty had reserved the position of Grand Secretary for him, and no one could take it away from him. He could have fulfilled both his loyalty and filial piety, but it would have just meant that the court would be a bit more chaotic and the new policies would be implemented more slowly. No one would have criticized him."

"He could have chosen not to implement any new policies and simply let the scholars of the land do what they liked. In that case, he would have been a highly praised Grand Secretary of a peaceful era."

……

“However, he did not do that. Why didn’t he do that? Because the Ming Dynasty was not strong enough or wealthy enough at the moment. There were still hidden dangers in the north and southeast. The soldiers were still starving, and the people were still living in dire straits. He chose to shoulder the responsibility of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. I think that is the responsibility of a good minister of the cabinet!” Shen Nian said seriously, raising his voice.

“But…but…but he lived a life of extravagance and embezzled money, that…that’s the truth!” A young student mustered up the courage to refute Shen Nian, but due to Shen Nian’s overwhelming aura, he stammered.

Shen Nian looked at him with a smile.

"Living a life of extravagance and engaging in corruption and bribery? Perhaps... but this is not because a particular official is corrupt, but because the world is corrupt. Nowadays, 'no action is taken without precedent,' and almost all officials are trapped by these precedents. Few officials can remain untainted by the corruption. This is a chronic problem in the current officialdom, and it is also the direction that the new policy reforms need to strive for!"

Shen Nian's words immediately made the students feel that he was very sincere.

In today's officialdom, few are not corrupt (mainly referring to those who routinely accept bribes), and this is obvious to everyone.

One of the main reasons is that officials' salaries are too low and there are no fixed rules, so officials themselves cannot support their families. Shen Nian once proposed in the court to raise the salaries of officials throughout the country. Although it was unsuccessful, scholars in the common people had heard about it.

"Then...then...did Minister Shen also embezzle and accept bribes?" a student asked, mustering his courage.

Shen Nian smiled and shook her head.

"I didn't, because my family is relatively well-off. If my family weren't wealthy, and I had many relatives to support after entering officialdom, I... I might either borrow money or accept the customary bribes. I can't be as incorruptible as Lord Hai, and few people in the world possess Lord Hai's level of integrity. I think the current corruption among officials is mainly due to problems with the Ming Dynasty's official system, which is something that needs to be reformed. As court officials, their salaries shouldn't be insufficient to support their families, but they also shouldn't be allowed to amass both power and wealth, exploiting the people..."

Shen Nian spoke in a very calm tone, like a gentle schoolteacher lecturing to his students at a leisurely pace.

The students immediately relaxed.

at this time.

Another student spoke up: "May I ask, sir, some people say that the current new policies are actually a move by the court to compete with the people for profit. What is your opinion?"

To compete with the people for profit.

These four words have been active among the public and are one of the most controversial topics that are most aggressive towards the current new policies.

Many people believe that the core of the current reform measures of the imperial court is to collect the wealth of the people and put it into the imperial granary, enriching the court while impoverishing the people.

If some scholars in local prefectures were to publicly discuss these matters, they would be immediately arrested and imprisoned.

"Competing with the people for profit?" Shen Nian scoffed. "That depends on who you mean by 'the people.' If you mean the wealthy gentry and powerful families with land, then it is indeed competing with them for profit. Because the court must protect the interests of the vast majority to maintain the stability of the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. If we don't seize their interests, the oppressed lower classes will resort to murder and arson, and the court's wealth will slowly be turned into their private property..."

"There is no absolute fairness in this world, but if the Ming Dynasty wants to maintain its stability, it must be as fair as possible."

"This world belongs to Your Majesty and the court officials, as well as to all the people. If those who have vested interests only want to take advantage and are unwilling to suffer losses or contribute to this world, they will surely be destroyed!"

"You must also remember that when you have too much power or wealth, it no longer belongs to you, but to the world, because you have a responsibility to make the world a better place!"

……

"Been taught a lesson!"

Upon hearing Shen Nian's simple and easy-to-understand explanation, several students couldn't help but bow and clasp their hands in greeting to him.

Immediately, the twelve students engaged in a question-and-answer session with Shen Nian.

The atmosphere became more harmonious.

Upon hearing Shen Nian's witty yet bold words, some students couldn't help but smile.

"Cough cough...cough cough...cough cough..."

Wang Shizhen, who had been listening intently, suddenly coughed violently, interrupting Shen Nian's interaction with the students.

He felt that if he didn't interrupt, the two of them would develop a master-disciple relationship!
Upon hearing the cough, the students bowed to Wang Shizhen and stopped asking Shen Nian questions.

Wang Shizhen slowly stood up and turned to look at Shen Nian.

"Merit is merit, and fault is fault. Merit and fault cannot offset each other. I acknowledge Zhang Taiyue's achievements in the new policies, but this cannot cover up his autocracy, filial impiety, corruption, contempt for imperial authority, and nepotism!"

"Gao Suqing's last words should be made public so that all the people of the world can see them. Shen Nian, you are a historian by training, surely you know the principle that history should be written with 'factual accuracy and truthfulness, without exaggeration of merits or concealment of faults'? If you are a truly upright historian, you should include Gao Suqing's last words in His Majesty's daily records and in the subsequent official records, instead of using a bunch of achievements to cover up Zhang Taiyue's faults, and now you're here trying to persuade me to turn back!"

Shen Nian stared directly at Wang Shizhen, whose face was gloomy.

"Mr. Yanzhou, you underestimate Grand Secretary Zhang and me. Rest assured, because this matter involves His Majesty, it will surely be recorded in the daily records; because this matter involves state affairs and has aroused widespread public opinion, it will also be recorded in the official records!"

Wang Shizhen was a contemporary of Zhang Juzheng and a leader in the literary world of the Ming Dynasty, with a high seniority and seniority. To show respect, Shen Nian did not address him by his courtesy name, but instead used the elegant title given to him by common literati.

"Hmph! No matter how official history records it, my pen, or the pens of my students, will record this matter truthfully!" Wang Shizhen was very stubborn and did not believe Shen Nian's words at all.

Shen Nian slowed down.

“Mr. Yanzhou, I know that you have always been writing history, and I know that you believe that the current official histories are biased, concealing evil and praising good, and cannot restore the truth of history!”

“Isn’t that right?” Wang Shizhen countered.

Shen Nian shook his head slightly.

"It's pointless for us to debate the authenticity of whether history was written by officials or by the people. But we can make an assumption."

"A hundred years from now, when future generations open the official histories of the court and the historical materials you wrote, especially after seeing that you risked your life to promote your 'Last Words on Your Deathbed,' what do you think their reaction will be?"

Wang Shizhen puffed out his chest and said, "Naturally, I am more inclined to believe that what I said is true!"

"Let's make another assumption: what if future generations believed that the historical materials you compiled were true? How would they evaluate Grand Secretary Zhang?"

"A usurper of power, a hypocritical villain!" Wang Shizhen said through gritted teeth.

Shen Nian shook his head slightly.

"A few self-proclaimed upright officials who are actually useless might think this way, but the people of future generations will definitely not think this way!"

"I suspect that future generations will say that Zhang Juzheng, the savior of the nation, had only a minor flaw, and that Wang Shizhen, the literary leader, was a clown!"

"When it comes to historical merits and demerits, the people look at a person's contributions to the world and their good deeds for them. Grand Secretary Zhang's achievements in the new policies are obvious to all, but you... are nothing more than a stumbling block to the new policies and reforms, a sinner of the Wanli era!"

"Compared to the Ming Dynasty's stability and the people's peaceful life, your criticism is insignificant. Your vision is too narrow. You think you can ruin Grand Secretary Zhang's reputation, but it only makes the court's new policies and reforms more difficult, making things even harder for Grand Secretary Zhang!"

……

Shen Nian did not offer any further explanation after saying this.

Because he was certain that Wang Shizhen and his students could understand and know that Shen Nian was right.

For a moment, the prison became quiet.

Wang Shizhen's students also fell into deep thought, and for the first time, they began to doubt Wang Shizhen's teachings.

Shen Nian's line, "Zhang Juzheng, the savior of the times, has a minor flaw, while Wang Shizhen, the leader of the literary world, is a clown," made them subconsciously feel that they were accomplices of the clown.

All that they are doing is harming the Ming Dynasty, hindering the new policies, and preventing the people of the world from having enough to eat.

Zhang Juzheng may have had a thousand faults in his private morality.

But no one can deny his dedication, hard work, and contributions to the Ming Dynasty.

Compared to his merits, his contributions to the Ming Dynasty, and the various problems that arose after the court lost him, his mistakes were indeed insignificant.

Wang Shizhen opened her mouth to speak, but was unable to refute Shen Nian.

At this moment, he was on the verge of collapse.

He felt that the beliefs he had always held onto were slowly crumbling, and he saw the doubts about him on the faces of the students around him.

About ten breaths later.

Shen Nian let out a long breath, her tone softening somewhat.

“Mr. Yanzhou, you and your students were fearless in the face of power and death, which showed your integrity, but that was all. If you included your ‘Last Words on Your Deathbed’ in your historical records, I think you did nothing wrong. Whether future generations believe you or Grand Secretary Zhang, they will have their own way of discerning.”

"We write history not to tell future generations what is loyal and treacherous, what is right and wrong, because we are also short-sighted. We only need to write down the facts. Many things can only be distinguished as loyal and treacherous, right and wrong, after the sedimentation of history!"

"Next, I hope you can write a letter of apology, not to Grand Secretary Zhang, nor to His Majesty, but to the people of the world. Your mistake is not in publishing the 'Last Words from Your Sickbed,' but in using extreme means, abusing your influence and your authority in various private academies in Jiangnan, to launch a massive attack on the current Grand Secretary and undermine the new reforms without verifying the authenticity of the 'Last Words from Your Sickbed'!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Shizhen's face turned ashen, clearly indicating that he did not want to write.

"I asked you to write this because I don't want the court to shut down private academies across the country again because of this matter, and I don't want many young scholars to lose their chance at officialdom because of this, and become angry young people who only criticize the court!"

"Furthermore, regardless of how this matter is characterized, I will plead with the court to reduce your sentence and allow you to retain the right to be recorded in history. This is not a condition for you to write an apology, but rather because I believe that there should never be only one version of events in this world. Perhaps future generations, after reading official histories, folk histories, and even unofficial histories passed down orally by the common people, will be able to have a more fair understanding of history and promote better development in future generations!"

"Think it over carefully. I'm waiting for your letter of apology!" Shen Nian bowed slightly to Wang Shizhen, then strode away.

In the nearby prison, all the students couldn't help but bow to Shen Nian.

Shen Nian's words had already convinced them to compromise completely; their next task was to persuade Wang Shizhen.

Pfft!
Suddenly, Wang Shizhen plopped down on the ground, muttering, "Was I...was I wrong? Am I...am I a clown? Am I a stumbling block to the Ming Dynasty's new policies?"

At this moment, all the stances and beliefs that Wang Shizhen had constructed in his mind collapsed in an instant.

……

At this moment, in an empty cell to the south of Wang Shizhen and the other students.

Cao Wei, the garrison commander of the Northern Garrison, and Lü Hai, a commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, came out from inside. They had listened to the entire debate between Shen Nian and Wang Shizhen.

They were eavesdropping on the emperor's orders and were to report back later.

At this moment, both of them had beads of sweat on their foreheads.

They felt that Shen Nian's mouth was more powerful than all the torture instruments in the imperial prison.

These words broke down the other person's psychological defenses, making them feel that everything they had done was wrong.

Next, they were certain that Wang Shizhen would write an apology letter, and thanks to Shen Nian, their performance in this year's exams would be even better.

(End of this chapter)