My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 170 Orange Item: Memory Palace Sachet
After leaving the cabinet and returning to the history museum, Su Ze immediately went back to his office and opened the system to eagerly start drawing rewards.

[Congratulations, host! You have obtained the item "Memory Palace Sachet (Orange)".]

[Memory Palace Sachet] (Orange): A reusable item that allows you to enter the Memory Palace and view past memories (only for the host; outsiders will only smell the ordinary sachet).

A sachet identical to the one at his waist appeared in Su Ze's hand.

what is this?
Memory Palace?

Su Ze remembered that this seemed to be a setting in a detective novel, where the protagonist had the ability to remember everything he saw. Whenever he needed to recall something, he could enter this consciousness space and remember all the details.

Is it so magical?

Su Ze grabbed the sachet, and soon a sense of dizziness washed over him. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in a huge wooden palace.

The palace was very tall, with bookshelves on both sides that reached the roof.

Is this my own memory palace?

But how do you use this thing?
With a thought, Su Ze saw a book-like object fly out from the bookshelf. As Su Ze took the book, a memory appeared before his eyes.

This is an animated film he watched when he was a child. From the images to the sounds, even the cicadas chirping outside the window while the film was playing, everything appeared clearly before his eyes.

This is too amazing!
Just as Su Ze was about to continue exploring the function of this prop, a wave of dizziness hit him, and when he woke up he found himself lying on his desk.

[Note: Due to mental limitations, you may not enter the memory palace for more than five minutes each day, and you must rest for 24 hours before you can enter again.]

Su Ze quickly asked:

"Does using a memory palace have any side effects?"

[No side effects]

Hearing that there were no side effects, Su Ze felt much more at ease.

Only five minutes a day is a bit short.

In this way, Su Ze can "recall" all the mathematical, physical, and chemical formulas he learned in his previous life, as well as the articles he memorized, through this memory palace!
nice one!
[New main quest: All cabinet members reach a close relationship level.]

Task Reward: 1 chance to draw items

Upon seeing this new task, Su Ze could only manage a wry smile.

There's only Zhang Juzheng left in the cabinet, so we need to boost Zhang Juzheng's reputation.

This system is forcing me to become a slave to four masters!

However, this new prop gave Su Ze an idea for its use.
-
Capital.

Shen Jing did not leave the capital.

Having experienced the prosperity of the capital, why would he be willing to live in anonymity and travel far away from home?

Since he was going to live in anonymity anyway, Shen Jing simply chose to remain in the capital city, living a life of quiet seclusion.

One hundred taels of silver could buy a large plot of land back in my hometown.

However, in the capital, this amount of silver was hardly enough to last.

After spending half a month indulging in revelry, Shen Jing also felt the pressure of his purse gradually emptying.

After much thought, he decided to submit his work for publication.

Neither the "Junzi Bao" nor Su Ze's "Yuefu Xinbao" would work.

Shen Jing chose the "New Yuefu Daily".

The submission method for the "New Yuefu Daily" was very mysterious. You only needed to write your address on the completed article and put it into the donation box of a dilapidated temple on the outskirts of the city. You would receive a response within three days.

If accepted, the payment will be deposited into the submitter's home.

If the manuscript is rejected, it will be returned.

A while ago, when the anti-smuggling censors were cracking down on piracy, they also took a liking to the "New Yuefu Daily".

However, after keeping watch for a long time, the police still couldn't figure out how the manuscript in the donation box was taken away.

This incident has become a well-known supernatural tale in the capital, with rumors circulating that it was the work of ghosts and gods.

Shen Jing did not believe in ghosts and gods. He thought that the Xinyuefu newspaper was a well-organized newspaper, and that the dilapidated temple was probably using some kind of trickery.

Shen Jing's confident manuscript was rejected by the Xin Yuefu Daily!
Shen Jing submitted articles to several tabloids, but the results were the same.

This broke Shen Jing's guard, so he decided to use the remaining money to buy printing equipment and print and sell his own products!

But Shen Jing was unlucky; he took over a printing shop that printed pirated books, and just then, the police came knocking on his door.

Faced with the fine left by the previous owner, Shen Jingxin steeled himself and said:
"Gentlemen officers, I have something important to report to the Imperial Censor!"
-
Lengyan Temple, on the outskirts of Beijing.

He Xinyin, dressed in coarse cloth, was entertaining several fellow practitioners from the Taizhou School.

A characteristic of the intellectual circles in the Ming Dynasty was that schools of thought would inevitably split after the death of their founders.

Wang Yangming was like this, and so was Wang Gen.

After Wang Gen's death, the Taizhou School also began to split.

For example, Zhao Zhenji and other believers in the court became increasingly conservative in their approach to scholarship, and began to gravitate towards Yangming's philosophy of mind and even Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.

The Taizhou School, which Zhao Zhenji admired, advocated "respect".

It advocates restraining oneself in daily life and engaging with the world under the premise of "self-discipline".

However, in He Xinyin's view, this set of ideas was just a reskinned version of the Song Confucianism's self-discipline and restoration of rites, and was not Wang Taizhou's original intention at all.

Even within the Taizhou School, there were disagreements among living masters and disciples.

For example, He Xinyin's master Yan Jun was still alive. Yan Jun advocated "friendship" and was keen on developing associations in the local area.

He Xinyin had also tried to form societies in his early years, and even used his own clan as a basis for social practice, but the results were not ideal, so He Xinyin changed his approach.

A young Confucian scholar said:

"Master He, we're here to rescue Master Liang."

Then the Confucian scholar continued:
"On the way to Beijing, I and several like-minded people followed the example of Master Liang and established the Canal Gang in Daming Prefecture, Shandong."

Liang Jun was arrested and imprisoned at the end of the Jiajing reign. Even after the new emperor ascended the throne, he was not pardoned. These disciples thought that they could make friends with officials at the Lingji Palace gathering and rescue Liang Jun from prison.

Liang Jun's idea was to create various mutual aid societies. He had been promoting the Taizhou School of Thought in various places and organizing canal porters and salt workers to form gangs and societies.

These mutual aid associations did improve the lives of some people at the bottom of society, and they were able to unite and resist oppression.

He Xinyin said:
“Forming societies is nothing more than private friendships. If this continues, these societies and gangs will inevitably continue to oppress others for their own benefit. Wouldn’t that lead to endless trouble?”

He Xinyin opposed such small-scale associations, and he had followed Liang Jun in doing them, the earliest being the canal gang in Huai'an, the garrison of the Huaifu.

However, the canal gangs in Huai'an have now become local tyrants. Ordinary people who want to work at the docks have to sign a blood pact with the canal gangs and hand over their income to them in order to ensure their safety.

These shipping guilds even split into several factions based on their hometown ties, and these factions would fight each other to seize control of the docks as their sphere of influence.

The former governor of Huai'an was dismissed by the court because of his failure to suppress the laborers' riot at the Huai'an docks.

The current governor of Huai'an, Wang Zhihuan, is a bureaucrat who rose through the ranks from the Ministry of Works. It is uncertain whether he can control the situation in Huai'an.

The Confucian scholar responsible for relaying the message was somewhat unconvinced, and he said to He Xinyin:
"May I ask, Master He, what new insights have you gained recently?"

Everyone turned to look at He Xinyin.

That's how their group is; they address each other as teacher and friend in daily life, without adhering to the Confucian tradition of respecting teachers and valuing the Way. Their daily discussions of scholarship are always tense and confrontational.

He Xinyin smiled faintly and said:
“What I have seen in the capital recently has given me some new insights.”

"Appreciate further details."

He Xinyin said:
"To bring peace to the world, one must simply distribute it equally!"

The people present were not too shocked, after all, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang had proposed this theory of equal distribution of power.

He Xinyin then said:

"The world is the master, and the ruler is the guest." "A ruler should take the affairs of the world and its people as his own; a ruler who does not take the affairs of the people as his own is a great scourge to the world."

After he said that, everyone was stunned.

Some people even regretted sitting there.

He Xinyin recounted his argument to himself before letting everyone leave.

After everyone had left, a young Confucian scholar entered and said:

“Master He, these fellow practitioners are unpredictable. What you’re saying could cause trouble for Lengyan Temple.”

He Xinyin laughed and said:
“Abbot Fayan has a wide circle of friends and is connected with several senior officials, so he won’t be implicated.”

"But we're leaving now."

His disciple asked, puzzled:

"Master He, why do you need to explain your knowledge to them?"

He Xinyin, holding her luggage, said:

"Learning is about sharing with others. The sages of the past wrote books and recruited disciples, wasn't it all to pass on their knowledge?"

The disciple then said:
"But your knowledge..."

He Xinyin said, "Whether they agree with my scholarship or not, as long as they spread my knowledge, that's enough."

“There are naturally people in this world who appreciate my knowledge. When they see my knowledge, we will have more like-minded people.”

The disciple then said:
"Then why isn't Master He in the newspaper?"

He Xinyin shook his head and said:
"Even my fellow disciples don't agree with my teachings. It's too early to spread them now; it might just arouse the court's suspicion."

"The New Yuefu Daily should continue to be published. As long as it can enlighten the people, that day will come sooner or later."

“Let’s leave now, and the printing shop can be moved as well.”

The disciples all agreed and quickly left Lengyan Temple.
-
May 17th, newspaper office.

As soon as Su Ze entered the newspaper office, he saw Luo Wanhua dozing off and couldn't help but ask in surprise:
"Brother Yifu, you can doze off too?"

Luo Wanhua was extremely self-disciplined. He would go to bed early at night and work with great energy during the day. Su Ze had never seen him so tired before.

Luo Wanhua yawned and said:
“There was a lecture at the teahouse yesterday, so I went to listen.”

Su Zeqi said:

"Brother Yifu, are you also interested in lecturing?"

Luo Wanhua shook his head and said:
"No."

Luo Wanhua was a follower of original Confucianism.

These are people who have no interest in any school of thought and believe in the most basic Confucian moral values.

In fact, there are quite a few people like this among officials.

The imperial examination was only for the purpose of obtaining official rank and fame, and not everyone was interested in academic pursuits.

Luo Wanhua had a slight interest in practical learning, but only for the sake of running a newspaper.

These days, with virtuous and learned scholars gathering in the capital, lectures and educational activities are held everywhere.

Guild halls, temples, and Taoist temples were not enough, so many people gave lectures in teahouses and restaurants.

Su Zeqi said:

"Since Brother Yifu is not interested in lecturing, why do you go to the teahouse to listen to lectures?"

Luo Wanhua said:
"I went to check out the newspaper vendors."

"Selling newspapers?"

Luo Wanhua said:
“These tabloids in the capital hired wandering children from the city to sell their newspapers.”

“Some children hawk their wares in the bustling city, while others, with their quick wits, sell newspapers in teahouses, and can sell quite a few in one night.”

Su Ze was stunned for a moment. Wasn't this the British-style newsboy from Chongqing?

Has my Great Ming Dynasty developed to this extent?

Luo Wanhua said somewhat uncertainly:
"I was thinking that our 'Yuefu Xinbao' newspaper could also set up newsstands in areas with many teahouses, and have children sell newspapers. What do you think, Brother Zilin?"

Seeing Su Ze lost in thought, Luo Wanhua thought his suggestion was bad, so he quickly said:

"If Brother Zilin thinks it's unacceptable, then so be it."

Su Ze said quickly:

"Brother Yifu, that's a great idea!"

"It is thanks to Brother Yifu that these children who are homeless can have a means of making a living. Moreover, this method can increase the sales of the Yuefu Xinbao, which is a win-win situation."

When Luo Wanhua heard Su Ze agree with his suggestion, a shy smile appeared on his face. He resolved to thoroughly investigate the capital and set up newsstands in areas with many scholars.

Just then, Shen Yiguan rushed in right on time.

Big news!

Su Ze was already used to his sudden outbursts and asked:

"Brother Jianwu, your big news yesterday was that two censors from the Censorate got into a fight over credit. What big news do you have today?"

Shen Yiguan said:
"Mr. Yanzhou has finished his mourning period and returned to the capital!"

Mr. Yanzhou is none other than Wang Shizhen, a literary idol of our time.

In the Middle Ages, scholars, politicians, writers, and intellectuals were all considered to be of the same identity.

For example, Wang Anshi of the Song Dynasty was a literary leader, prime minister, and scholar.

However, by the time of the Ming Dynasty, the three paths gradually diverged, and even a few geniuses could only hold two identities.

Wang Shizhen did not hold a high official position, but he held an extremely high status in the literary world.

In the literary world of the Ming Dynasty, the only one who could be compared to Wang Shizhen was Li Panlong, who was retired and recuperating at home.

Su Ze remembered that Li Panlong was already seriously ill.

During his period of mourning, Wang Shizhen was compiling the "Yanshantang Collection" in his hometown. Officials and dignitaries from the capital sent him their manuscripts, hoping that Wang Shizhen would include them in his collection.

Wang Shizhen's writings even spread to the surrounding vassal states. Many people in Korea and Japan admired his writings, and his reputation even spread across the grasslands.

This is the power of culture.

Shen Yiguan said, "Mr. Yanzhou was recommended by Grand Secretary Zhang, and the court will soon appoint him to an important position."

Zhang Juzheng and Wang Shizhen were probably on good terms at the time, and probably no one expected that they would become enemies later, to the point that Wang Shizhen made up so many jokes to smear Zhang Juzheng.

Luo Wanhua asked, "What position will the imperial court grant to Mr. Yanzhou?"

"At least he should be a provincial governor, right? Mr. Yanzhou's father has been exonerated, and His Majesty greatly appreciates his efforts in seeking justice for his father."

Just as everyone was chatting, an urgent military report was delivered to the cabinet.

The four ministers' expressions changed slightly after reading it. Li Chunfang stood up and said:

"The military situation is urgent; I should request an audience with His Majesty."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The lambing season was over, and the grasslands were in turmoil again. Although the cabinet and the Ministry of War had made preparations, they did not expect the commotion to be so great this time.

Even Gao Gong's eyes flashed with a hint of worry.

(End of this chapter)