I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 287 Haters Strikes! One Insult to Shen Ziheng Makes Him a Sensation (Seeking Monthly Tickets at the End of the Month)

On the tenth day of the first lunar month, at dawn, the sky was just beginning to brighten.

The cries of book vendors echoed from the Xidazhalan area of ​​Qianmen Street.

This place is a gathering place for brothels, attracting people from all walks of life. Many scholars and playboys return to the inn to sleep after a night of pleasure.

These people mostly enjoy discussing current events, making them the ideal audience for local tabloids.

"Look, look! A high-ranking official of the third rank in the court has spent two hundred taels of silver just to buy a book for leisure reading and even wants to write a preface for it!"

"Breaking news! Breaking news! The greatest book in the Ming Dynasty is about to be published, and the person behind it is actually a third-rank official in the current court!"

"What a strange story! What a strange story! A third-rank official of the imperial court has spent two hundred taels of silver in the marketplace for such a vulgar item!"

……

The book vendors were well-versed in the art of selling books, and their calls always included phrases like "a third-rank official of the current dynasty."

They dared to offend high-ranking officials and were not afraid of being arrested.

On the one hand, they were highly mobile and had already bribed the soldiers patrolling the Five Cities Garrison; on the other hand, they did not discuss politics, and there were many tabloids describing the private lives of officials, which the court could not stop.

In the past, news such as "Shen Nian is Zhang Juzheng's illegitimate son" and "Zhang Juzheng had an affair with Empress Dowager Li" could be spread in tabloids.

This shows that while unreliable tabloids may not guarantee accuracy, they are truly wild!

Not long after.

The newspapers in the hands of several vendors were quickly snapped up.

Upon closer inspection, the buyer realized that the "third-rank official" referred to Shen Nian, and the "strange book" referred to a fantasy novel depicting Tang Sanzang's journey to the West.

There are many wealthy merchants in the capital, so spending two hundred taels of silver at once is not unusual.

However, the fact that Shen Nian, a high-ranking official of the court, spent a lot of money to buy a popular book that was not worthy of being presented in a refined setting and even wrote a preface for it became a topic of great interest among the people.

"So Scholar Shen also reads this kind of book. It seems I won't have to hide from people when I read these kinds of unofficial novels anymore!"

"Scholar Shen is quite down-to-earth, unlike some officials who spout benevolence and morality while harboring wicked intentions and secretly visiting brothels, yet pretending to be virtuous gentlemen who are indifferent to women!"

"Scholar Shen and I are truly kindred spirits. I wonder if he has any plans to write a fictional novel!"

……

When the contents of this tabloid were circulated, only a very small number of people felt that Shen Nian's actions were inconsistent with his status and had lost the demeanor of a scholar-official.

Most ordinary people enjoy reading this kind of popular literature.

Among them, some teahouse, brothel, and bookstore owners were very excited when they saw this content.

Unofficial novels or dramas adapted from them are their main source of income. Shen Nian also enjoys reading these kinds of novels, so if they add a line like "Scholar Shen also enjoys reading these kinds of novels about talented scholars and beautiful women, gods and heroes" during their presentations, their business is sure to take off.

……

Just as the news that "Shen Nian spent two hundred taels of silver to print Journey to the West" was spreading throughout the streets and alleys.

With a bruised and swollen face, Zhang Taizheng walked from the inn where he was staying to the west side of Masheng Hutong, in front of Shen Nian's house.

With his bruised and swollen face, coupled with his identity as the son of Feng Pan Gong, he naturally attracted a lot of attention.

He was followed by more than fifty onlookers.

As everyone followed him to the front of the Shen residence, they all speculated whether Shen Nian had sent someone to beat him, and whether he had come to confront her.

Pfft!
Zhang Taizheng knelt directly in front of Shen Nian's residence, then took out his visiting card and loudly proclaimed, "I, Zhang Taizheng, a scholar, request an audience with Minister Shen! If I cannot see Minister Shen today, my life will be in danger!"

Since he had visited the Shen residence the day before, the guards at the gate recognized him. Without saying much, they accepted the visiting card and reported to the courtyard.

At that moment, two young men dressed in gray stood not far away.

They secretly protected the safety of the Shen residence.

If those near the residence do not possess weapons and are not planning to force their way into or sneak into the Shen residence, they will not immediately stop them, but will follow Shen Nian's orders.

soon.

Soldiers patrolling the Five Cities Garrison and clerks patrolling the Shuntian Prefecture also arrived in front of Shen Nian's residence.

Officials like Shen Nian, who held the rank of third grade.

Shen Nian should have lived in a grand mansion where the wealthy gathered, but she never moved out of this small alley where many ordinary people lived.

Both the Five Cities Military Command and Shuntian Prefecture knew the importance of the Shen residence's safety, so they would come here as soon as there was the slightest abnormality at the Shen residence.

The inner courtyard of Shen's house.

Shen Nian had just gotten up when she saw Zhang Taizheng's visiting card.

The latter claimed that someone who idolized Shen Nian beat him up last night, and he hoped to apologize to Shen Nian in person and get her forgiveness, otherwise he might be beaten again.

Shen Nian frowned slightly.

"This Zhang Taizheng is like a leech. I don't hold a grudge about what happened that day, and I won't deliberately make things difficult for him during the imperial examination. Pretending to be pitiful is really annoying!"

Shen Nian thought for a moment and decided to go out and resolve the issue thoroughly so as not to affect his annual leave.

……

After a while.

Shen Nian, dressed in a light blue cotton robe, appeared at the door with Aji.

Seeing so many people gathered on the street and Zhang Taizheng's bruised and swollen face, Shen Nian felt that the other party might be putting on an act.

Upon seeing Shen Nian, Zhang Taizheng excitedly cupped his hands and said, "Minister Shen, you... you've finally come to see your student!"

“Last night, some thugs beat me while shouting, ‘How dare you offend our Scholar Shen! You should die!’ I think it must be because of what happened at the City God Temple book fair the other day. I was too rude and angered Scholar Shen, which is why I was retaliated against by some people who admire Scholar Shen.”

"I know I was wrong. My attitude was bad at the time. I beg Scholar Shen to forgive me, otherwise... otherwise I'm afraid I will not only be unable to participate in this imperial examination, but my life may even be in danger!"

Zhang Taizheng's eyes were filled with tears, and he looked very pitiful.

Upon hearing these words, Shen Nian's expression darkened.

The other party's words appeared to be an apology, but actually carried a hint of threat. It seemed that if Shen Nian didn't express her forgiveness, he would be beaten again, unable to participate in the imperial examinations, and even his life would be in danger!

This made Shen Nian feel very uncomfortable.

Shen Nian paused for a moment and looked at him.

"Zhang Taizheng, this is not a government office. You don't need to kneel before me. Stand up first!"

Zhang Taizheng wanted to continue kneeling, but seeing Shen Nian's unwavering and sharp gaze, he had no choice but to stand up.

Shen Nian walked up to him.

"Zhang Taizheng, your mistake was bullying a bookseller. If you should apologize, apologize to him, not to this official!"

“The stall owner has already left the capital, so you probably won’t have a chance to apologize. Just be careful with your words and actions in the future. I won’t make things difficult for you over such a small matter. You can go back now!” Shen Nian said, with his hands behind his back.

"Minister Shen, I... I'm afraid if I don't apologize to you, I'm afraid... I'm afraid some villains who admire you will still beat me up. I... I know you're unaware of this, but they really will still do it..."

"Do it?"

Shen Nian suddenly raised her voice, interrupting Zhang Taizheng.

“Within the capital, right under the emperor’s nose, what kind of villain would dare to beat a candidate participating in the imperial examination? If you think someone is trying to harm you, go to the Shuntian Prefecture to file a complaint. If you are beaten again, come to me again, and I will personally write a memorial impeaching the Shuntian Prefecture and the Five Cities Military Command for dereliction of duty!” These words were spoken.

Behind the crowd, soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison and clerks from Shuntian Prefecture quickly ran out.

"Minister Shen...Minister Shen, please rest assured, from this moment on, we will assign people to protect Zhang Juzi closely and absolutely prevent any villains from getting close to him. In addition, we will also arrest the villains who beat him last night as soon as possible!" A clerk from Shuntian Prefecture said with his hands clasped.

Their faces were covered in sweat; if Shen Nian impeached them, they could all be dismissed.

At this moment, Zhang Taizheng was a little confused, as this was completely different from what he had imagined.

Shen Nian disdained to accept his apology, much less to offer any words of forgiveness.

"Go do what you're supposed to do!" Shen Nian flicked her long sleeves and turned to walk into the courtyard.

Soon, the onlookers were dispersed by soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison and clerks from the Shuntian Prefecture.

When Zhang Taizheng returned to the inn, he was followed by several government officials, who were clearly there to protect him closely.

……

An hour later, in Zhang Taizheng's private room.

His bodyguard, Asui, strode up to him and said excitedly, "Young Master, it's all done! Everything's all done!"

"This time, I may have stirred up a den of pedantic scholars. When I was in a teahouse, holding a tabloid and claiming to be a third-rank official, I was promoting something illusory, blasphemous to Taoism, and vulgar that confused the moral order. A middle-aged scholar immediately agreed with my words. Then I bribed him to find a few followers of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism to criticize Shen Nian's behavior of destroying the style of the literati and misleading the scholars of the world."

"Then... the middle-aged scholar was overjoyed, and even said he would do it if he wasn't paid."

"Then, in less than half a day, the middle-aged scholar found more than ten like-minded old friends. After discussing it, they decided that in addition to writing articles to publish in tabloids to criticize Shen Nian, they also planned to go to the vicinity of the Confucian Temple to criticize Shen Nian. There were many scholars and literati there, and once they gathered together, the public opinion they would generate would be enormous. It might even lead to the censors and officials in the court impeaching Shen Nian..."

"These stubborn pedantic scholars know that criticizing Shen Nian can bring them fame, so they will definitely not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Just you wait and see, the capital will be very lively tomorrow!"

……

Zhang Taizheng let out a long breath and said, "Good! Good! Good!"

He said "good" three times in a row, and his mood improved. He felt that if he could trip up Shen Nian, his future would be limitless.

……

It was early morning on the eleventh day of the first lunar month.

Tabloids criticizing Shen Nian began appearing on the main streets of the capital.

Many small, unofficial newspaper workshops simply print or copy content once and then move on to a different location. As long as they get paid and as long as it doesn't involve politics, they dare to publish any kind of content.

Above the tabloids.

One article claims that Shen Nian's promotion of fantastical and blasphemous novels about gods and demons is unbecoming of the literati and misleads scholars, making him a disgrace to the world's intellectuals.

One article claims that Shen Nian's act of writing a preface for a novel that was anti-Confucian was not the behavior of a scholar-official and that he was no longer qualified to serve as a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy and an official who gave daily lectures to the emperor.

Another article claims that Shen Nian is now indulging in pleasure and has become lazy, and the court must order him to write an apology and repentance in order to mitigate the negative impact he has had on scholars throughout the country.

……

The tabloid's words, righteous and awe-inspiring, advised Shen Nian to pull back from the brink, making it seem as if Shen Nian had committed an unforgivable crime.

Before long, these tabloids were delivered to Shen Nian.

After reading it, Shen Nian smiled and said, "I don't bother to respond to this kind of criticism. Let those pedantic scholars make a fuss. I don't believe any ordinary people will listen to them!"

……

At this moment, on Jixian Street east of the Imperial College.

Five middle-aged Confucian scholars, all around forty years old and not even having passed the imperial examinations, launched a speech in the street criticizing Shen Nian.

"There is a saying: A minister should strive to make the ruler as virtuous as Yao and Shun, while preserving the customs. Just when our dynasty was undergoing reforms, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and concurrently a lecturer in the Hanlin Academy actually promoted a supernatural novel of the strange tales!"

"This novel is blasphemous to religion and contains much that contradicts Confucian principles. As a high-ranking official, he shows no regard for his reputation and actually spends money to print and promote it. Two hundred taels of silver is enough to buy thousands of copies of the Analects. Today, I will risk my life to criticize this behavior that misleads scholars all over the world!"

……

The five middle-aged Confucian scholars worked in perfect harmony, spitting as they spoke, wielding their arms like swords, their eyes burning with passion, and delivering their lecture with great enthusiasm.

Before long, it attracted many people.

This greatly excited the five men. They usually had no one to listen to their political debates, but today was their chance to make a name for themselves.

They want to step on Shen Nian and become opinion leaders among the people.

at the same time.

Among the crowd below, more than ten followers of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism (pedantic scholars) echoed the call, shouting that Shen Nian should apologize to all scholars in the world.

Zhang Taizheng sat in a teahouse not far away, watching all this from afar. He was in a great mood, feeling that he would definitely ruin Shen Nian's reputation this time.

And this moment.

Two soldiers from the Five Cities Garrison and a clerk from Kaifeng Prefecture were sitting downstairs in the teahouse. They were focused on ensuring Zhang Taizheng's safety and finding the culprit who attacked him. They were completely unaware that Zhang Taizheng was the mastermind behind it all.

……

soon.

The news that the Confucian scholars of Jixian Street were criticizing Shen Nian reached Shen Nian's ears.

Shen Nian took a deep breath and murmured, "I only bought out a manuscript, yet it caused such a commotion, even involving blasphemy against religion and misleading the public. This... is very likely a man-made public opinion."

"Aji, tell the Imperial Guards outside the door to investigate whether someone is behind this."

“Yes, young master!” Aji thought for a moment and then said, “Young master, shouldn’t you write an article and post it outside the door to explain? Otherwise, these rumors will spread throughout the whole city.”

Shen Nian looked at Aji.

"Is it more serious for an official to patronize prostitutes or for me to publish 'Journey to the West'?"

Aji was taken aback, then said, "Of course, the crime of patronizing prostitutes is more serious!"

"Go wander around the brothel alley tonight, and you'll catch at least ten officials from the capital. This is nothing to me. If I had to explain everything, it would be too tiring!"

Sometimes, the more you explain something, the more those who cause trouble benefit.

Shen Nian knew that such public opinion couldn't smear him, so he didn't bother to explain.

……

Just as the five Confucian scholars were speaking excitedly, they suddenly saw a group of people surging towards them from not far away.

The dozen or so people at the front looked like the shopkeepers, while those following behind seemed to be the shop's employees.

At this point, some onlookers recognized the identities of these people.

"That's Manager Sun from Jade Green Pavilion, that's Manager Xu from Hero Teahouse, and that's Manager Zhu from Qingfeng Brothel..."

"A bunch of pedantic scholars! Which of you hasn't read 'Dream Romance' (a novel about talented scholars and beautiful women)? Which of you hasn't been to a brothel to visit prostitutes? You think you've stirred up trouble just because you flipped through some supernatural and fantastical novels? You think you're blaspheming Taoism and misleading all the scholars in the world? A bunch of scoundrels pretending to be righteous! Not only are you slandering Minister Shen, but you're also taking away our livelihoods with your words! Beat them up!"

One of the shopkeepers shouted curses, then led his staff to rush in front of the five scholars and began to beat them severely.

These five Confucian scholars slandered Journey to the West, criticizing reading such vulgar material as anti-Confucianism, inducing people to indulge in lust, confusing moral principles, and causing great harm to the business of these shops. Therefore, they were naturally angered and took action.

(End of this chapter)