My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 123 Alchemy
so close.

If I hadn't received an extra 200 prestige points last time, I wouldn't have had enough prestige points to execute this memorial.

Su Ze sighed. He thought that after being promoted, he would have enough prestige points, but he didn't expect that after the number of monthly simulations was increased, the four prestige points he gained every day were already a bit insufficient.

Besides the prestige points brought by official positions, there are also the prestige points that may be gained after the execution of various memorials, but this growth is very unstable.

How can I obtain more stable prestige points?
Su Ze shook his head. This broken system didn't even have a user manual. It seemed he would have to figure it out himself.
-
On November 29th, Li Chunfang arrived at the cabinet.

The secretary in charge of the Imperial Secretariat for Li Chunfang was an old secretary in his forties. He had been serving as Li Chunfang's secretary since the Jiajing era. This time, when Li Chunfang returned to the capital to serve as the Grand Secretary, he also promoted this secretary named Liu Jun to his side.

All the secretaries in the Imperial Secretariat were of the seventh rank, and like the Six Ministries, they did not have a head official.

However, as an important department, the Secretariat also needed someone to be in charge. Therefore, the Secretariat would recommend the oldest Secretary to be in charge of the Secretariat's official seal. In the outer court, he was generally referred to as "Secretary of the Seal".

Liu Jun was the Yin Jun She Ren of the Zhongshu Ke (Secretariat). In addition to assisting Li Chunfang, the Grand Secretary, in handling official business, he was also responsible for the general affairs of the Zhongshu Ke.

As someone close to Li Chunfang, Liu Jun could tell that Li Chunfang was in a good mood.

Today, Li Chunfang arrived at the cabinet early, even a quarter of an hour earlier than Gao Gong, who always arrived early. After taking his seat as the Grand Secretary, Li Chunfang inquired:
"Has the Secretariat subscribed to the *Yuefu Xinbao*?"

Liu Jun and Li Chunfang had a good relationship, so he said in a teasing tone:

“How could Hanlin Su let the Secretariat off the hook? He came to me last month, saying that the Yuefu Xinbao is a newspaper under the Cabinet, and the Secretariat also needs to subscribe to it. I could only subscribe to twenty copies.”

The Secretariat was not a large department; the total number of Secretariat staff in the entire Secretariat did not exceed forty.

Su Zelian even begged for twenty copies of the newspaper from the Zhongshu Ke (a government department), which made Li Chunfang curious about just how large the sales volume of the "Yuefu Xinbao" (a newspaper).

"Let's go and take a look at the Secretariat."

Liu Jun was somewhat puzzled. Li Chunfang, the Grand Secretary, was very particular about the hierarchy between superiors and subordinates. As the Grand Secretary, why would he want to visit the offices of the Secretariat?

However, given the orders from her superiors, Liu Jun could only lead Li Chunfang on foot from the Cabinet to the Secretariat.

The office of the Secretariat was not far from the Cabinet and was connected to the Six Ministries Corridor, so it was also known as the "Ministry".

Of course, the power and future prospects of the Secretariat were incomparable to those of the Six Ministries, so despite having more people, the Secretariat's offices were much more crowded than those of the Six Ministries.

Liu Jun was just about to make the announcement when Li Chunfang stopped him, saying:

"Enter through the side door."

Liu Jun had no choice but to follow Li Chunfang and enter the Secretariat through the side door.

The Secretariat was a department that assisted the Emperor's cabinet. It required staff to be on duty at night and to arrive at the office earlier than other government offices to prepare relevant work materials in advance.

However, it was not yet time for work, and the entire Zhongshu Ke was still quite relaxed. As soon as Li Chunfang entered, she saw a group of Zhongshu Sheren gathered together reading the Yuefu Xinbao.

Li Chunfang approached discreetly as the group of Imperial Secretaries gathered to read the fourth edition of "Journey to the West".

Liu Jun couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he coughed. The group of scribes turned around, saw Li Chunfang's face, and quickly hid their newspapers behind their backs.

Li Chunfang turned around and glared at Liu Jun, then said kindly:
"What are you looking at, Zhulang, with such interest?"

The head of the Secretariat officials quickly said:
"In response to the Grand Secretary, we are studying the articles on the imperial examinations in the newspapers."

"Oh? Did you find anything?"

These secretaries all stammered and couldn't answer.

Liu Jun couldn't stand it anymore and said:
"The Grand Secretary just saw you reading the fourth edition of a storybook, and you still dare to argue! You are punished by having to copy Buddhist scriptures!"

This time, Li Chunfang was surprisingly tolerant, waving her hand and saying:
"It's not time to go to the yamen yet, there's nothing wrong with reading the newspaper. The newspaper was published yesterday, why are you only reading it today?"

This time, Li Chunfang was so easy to talk to, so the head of the Secretariat said:
"Reporting to the Grand Secretary, there are a total of twenty copies of the 'New Yuefu Gazette' in the Secretariat. We were unable to grab any yesterday, so we had to come early this morning to borrow them."

Li Chunfang smiled slightly and then asked:

"So sought-after?"

The secretary quickly said:
"Your Excellency, you may not know this, but the 'New Yuefu Gazette' was originally just a piece of reading material for everyone to relax and have fun. However, the 'Journey to the West' serialized in the newspaper starting yesterday is so good that many seniors have taken the newspaper home to read to their families. We can only wait until today to read it."

Li Chunfang's smile widened, and he turned to Liu Jun beside him and said:
"Your Secretariat is an important and crucial position, and His Majesty and the Cabinet have seen the hard work of the Secretariat staff. When carrying out your duties, you must maintain a balance between work and rest. Liu Yinjun, go and find Su Zilin and subscribe to twenty more newspapers for the Secretariat. This money will be paid by the Cabinet's public office."

Upon hearing that they had not only escaped punishment but had also had the Secretariat order twenty more newspapers, the scribes thanked Li Chunfang profusely.

However, on the way back to the cabinet, Li Chunfang gradually lost her smile and asked again:
"Why are you copying Taoist scriptures again?"

Liu Jun lowered her head and said:
"It was His Majesty's decree to copy several of the late Emperor's favorite external alchemy scriptures."

Hearing this, Li Chunfang was somewhat worried. The current emperor was naturally more diligent in his duties than Jiajing, but of course he was far inferior to Taizu and Chengzu. However, overall he was a satisfactory emperor.

His only drawbacks were that, like the late emperor, he was also somewhat obsessed with Taoist alchemy.

In addition, Emperor Longqing enjoyed collecting rare and precious treasures, which was one of his hobbies.

As for the latter, the emperor's fondness for treasures was not considered a particularly bad hobby, and as long as he did not plunder from the common people, the cabinet would rarely interfere.

But the former is fatal.

The indiscriminate consumption of elixirs of immortality was a significant factor contributing to the short lifespans of the Ming Dynasty emperors.

Li Chunfang is an expert in Qingci (a type of Taoist verse) and has a deep understanding of Taoism. He is also an enthusiast of Neidan (internal alchemy).

However, he was not interested in external alchemy, believing it to be a heretical path.

The late Emperor Jiajing was also obsessed with Taoist arts, but at least he cultivated both his inner and outer cultivation, so he was considered to have lived a long life among the emperors of the Ming Dynasty.

The current emperor is only obsessed with external alchemy and does not practice internal alchemy. I wonder how long his body can last if things continue like this.

Li Chunfang shook his head. Even the cabinet couldn't advise against this. Wei Zheng couldn't persuade Li Shimin to pursue alchemy, let alone Li Shimin himself, who had submitted the most petitions during the late emperor's reign.

Not to mention himself, every single one of these people in the cabinet has written a memorial to the late emperor. Li Chunfang returned to the cabinet, but the other cabinet ministers were still not there. However, the Office of Transmission had already sent a batch of memorials today, and Li Chunfang saw the memorial by Su Ze at the very top.

"Has this monkey submitted another petition?"

Li Chunfang picked up the memorial and glanced through it.

"A Memorial on Promoting Culture and Education to Enhance Holy Governance"?
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Su Ze had agreed with the Crown Prince's memorial, requesting the Emperor to hold a lecture conference.

Li Chunfang paused for a moment, then flipped the document over to look at the name of the person who submitted the petition again. After confirming that it was Su Ze from the Hanlin Academy and not some other official with the same name, she returned to her seat with a puzzled look on her face.

Su Ze actually supports holding a lecture conference?
Li Chunfang herself supports lecturing.

In the forty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign, Xu Jie, as the Grand Secretary, personally presided over a grand assembly at Lingji Palace. Li Chunfang was also present, and together with Xu Jie, they were known as "the Dharma Protectors who lecture and protect the Dharma."

In the cabinet, besides Li Chunfang, Zhao Zhenji also strongly supported lecturing. Zhao Zhenji was also a master of the School of Mind and often gathered people to lecture.

However, things inevitably decline when they reach their extreme. After Xu Jie's downfall, criticisms of the academic community regarding the practice of lecturing were incessant.

This reflects both the new cabinet's rejection of the previous cabinet's policies and Li Chunfang's own admission that his lectures had encountered numerous problems.

The content of lectures gradually became meaningless, turning into empty talk. A large number of opportunists who did not understand the philosophy of mind at all infiltrated the lecture team. There were also corrupt officials who used the name of lectures to build academies to make money, or to bribe and speculate.

After Gao Gong returned to the cabinet, he began to crack down on lecture activities, suppressing officials who relied on lectures for promotion, which effectively curbed the lecture trend in the capital.

Li Chunfang was actually quite conflicted. He personally supported lecturing, but as the Grand Secretary, he opposed the government holding large-scale lectures, so he had to bear the blame.

As Li Chunfang read to the end, she saw Su Ze say:
"Your Majesty, I humbly request that Your Majesty grant the Crown Prince's request and follow the precedent set by the Lingji Palace of the previous dynasty, using the imperial treasury to support the grand lectures."

"The wealth of the inner palace belongs to the imperial family. It does not cost the national treasury a penny, nor does it involve the people's taxes. It also demonstrates the Holy Emperor's virtue of respecting rites and morality, and shows the Crown Prince's benevolence and love for the people. In this way, the flourishing of culture can be expected, and the people can enjoy the benefits of civilization. It is truly a good strategy to promote culture and education and enhance the Holy Emperor's rule."

Make the emperor pay for it?
A smile appeared on Li Chunfang's lips. If the emperor could really pay for it, the opposition from the outer court would naturally be much smaller. If that were the case, she could indeed help push it forward and hold another Lingji Palace conference.

However, as the Grand Secretary, Li Chunfang would not make a statement at this time.

He took the paper, but instead of writing his own opinion, he copied out Su Ze's last words.

Just as Li Chunfang finished writing, Gao Gong also entered the cabinet.

Gao Gong was puzzled that Li Chunfang had come to the cabinet ahead of schedule, but he still bowed to Li Chunfang, who then handed him Su Ze's memorial.

Su Ze requested to hold a lecture?

Gao Gong's brows furrowed.

Gao Gong had never liked the style of lecturing, and he was also aware that Su Ze was academically inclined towards Zhao Zhenji's Taizhou School.

However, Gao Gong opposed lecturing, and used it more as a target to attack his predecessor, Xu Jie.

In addition, by suppressing lectures, the influence of Li Chunfang, the great master of Neo-Confucianism, in the imperial court was reduced.

As expected, Li Chunfang copied out Su Ze's last paragraph, in which he requested the royal family to fund the lectures themselves.

Old fox!
Li Chunfang did not support the lectures, but this was an implication to the emperor that if the royal family really wanted to hold lectures, he, as the Grand Secretary, would not object as long as he paid for them.

If it were someone else submitting the petition, Gao Gong would certainly have spoken out against it.

However, since the memorial was written by Su Ze, Gao Gong still picked up his pen and wrote a not-too-severe objection.

As a faction leader, Gao Gong also understood that capable officials all had their own political views.

Officials hold vastly different political views, and even officials from the same faction may agree on the general direction but differ on the specific details.

For example, Zhao Zhenji was conservative in his administration and finances, but very radical in his military reforms.

Zhang Juzheng was radical in fiscal policy but conservative in his ideology and scholarship.

Gao Gong was not intolerant of Su Ze's dissent; he was simply expressing his opinion through a draft vote.

Zhao Zhenji requested retirement at home, and Zhang Juzheng was the last to arrive at the cabinet.

Zhang Juzheng, upon seeing this, indeed had the strongest reaction.

"Su Zilin actually supports the Crown Prince's absurd suggestion and commits such treacherous acts, and neither of you objects?"

Zhang Juzheng was clearly somewhat angry, and Li Chunfang, acting as a peacemaker, said:
“Lingji Palace has a tradition of lecturing, which also existed in previous dynasties. Your Highness is simply eager to learn and improve. Why must Grand Secretary Zhang be so vehement?”

Even Gao Gong couldn't stand it anymore. Although he didn't agree with Su Ze's point of view, he always protected his own. If you oppose holding a lecture conference, then oppose the matter. Why label him?

Gao Gong also spoke with a fiery tone:
"The Crown Prince is young and dares to submit memorials to the throne. We, the cabinet ministers, should 'understand his heart before we can correct his mistakes.' If we let the Crown Prince develop a dislike for politics because of such a trivial matter, wouldn't that be our fault?"

This saying comes from Mencius. "Know their hearts" means that teachers must understand the psychological characteristics and talents of their students. "Correct their faults" means that teachers should correct their shortcomings and deficiencies based on their understanding of the students' psychological characteristics.

This made Zhang Juzheng even more unhappy. He took the memorial directly and not only criticized Su Ze's proposal to hold a lecture conference, but also proposed to dismiss Su Ze from his position as a lecturer in the Eastern Palace on charges of "speaking recklessly and currying favor".

Gao Gong retrieved the memorial again, tore up his previous draft, and wrote his objections against Zhang Juzheng's excessive favoritism towards Su Ze under Zhang Juzheng's draft. He also suggested that the emperor take advantage of the situation and relax the education of the crown prince.

Li Chunfang, sitting on the throne of the Grand Secretary, was in a great mood. Unexpectedly, because of Su Ze, the previously harmonious cooperation between Gao Zhang and Li Chunfang had broken down again.

Li Chunfang shook her head. This monkey, so much trouble has been caused by you. I wonder when you'll finally be able to wear the golden headband and attain enlightenment. You can't possibly enter the cabinet without even a human form, can you?
Inside Yikun Palace, Zhu Yijun, with a stubborn expression, knelt in the hall.

Consort Li came from a humble background and had little political influence, so her expectations for her son were to be extremely cautious and never make any mistakes.

After all, Emperor Longqing was only in his thirties, and there was still an empress in the harem. Zhu Yijun was only the crown prince, which did not mean that he had secured his position.

Upon hearing that her son's situation had even provoked an attack from the outer court, Consort Li immediately summoned her son to the palace.

Consort Li asked sternly:
"You unfilial son! Speak! Which treacherous official misled you into writing a petition to hold a lecture?"

(End of this chapter)