Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 329 Fushe and Wen Tiren
On the morning of the 28th, Zhu Youjian held a farewell ceremony for the army at Dongzhimen and delivered an important speech entitled "Plowing up their court and sweeping away their descendants." Afterwards, he returned by elephant cart, passing through Dongzhimen Inner Street, Gulou East Street, Di'anmen Outer Street, and other sections.

These streets are lined with residential and commercial areas. For the sake of the emperor's life, the area has been cleared in advance: shops are closed, people are only allowed to stay at home and are not allowed to walk on the streets. Doors and windows along the streets must be closed, and imperial guards are on duty along the way.

However, beneath the quiet surface, the house was bustling with activity. Squatting inside and peeking through the cracks in the windows and doors to watch the emperor was a major form of entertainment for Beijing residents. If they were lucky enough to see the emperor traveling with his princes or princesses, it was even more interesting, and these sights would become topics of conversation for a long time to come.

"He's here! His Majesty is here! Oh dear, I can't see anything!" Sun Chun went from excitement to frustration.

"The chariot is designed to traverse the land, and its shape resembles the heavens; this is the natural design of the grand chariot," Zhang Pu said calmly.

"Sigh!" Sun Chun sighed deeply. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he hurriedly asked, "Master, you saw His Majesty at the palace examination last year, didn't you? What does His Majesty look like?!"

Zhang Pu frowned and said earnestly, "Rumors are never as good as seeing it for yourself. If you wish to see the Emperor's face, you should study diligently! Once you pass the imperial examination, won't your long-cherished wish be fulfilled?!"

"Don't even mention it! I've taken the exam so many times! My talent is only so-so. Forget about becoming a Jinshi, I can't even pass the provincial exam! Master, if you're really interested, you might as well keep me as your advisor!"

"Tch, don't listen to Zhang Tianru's nonsense. During the palace examination, he didn't dare to look up at His Majesty at all. How would he know what His Majesty looks like?" Zhang Cai retorted mercilessly.

"You!" Zhang Pu was momentarily embarrassed, but he couldn't do anything about Zhang Cai.

The two have been friends for many years, but Zhang Cai passed the imperial examination in the first year of Chongzhen's reign and is now enjoying a successful official career; while he only passed the imperial examination last year, ranking quite high, and was assigned to the position of a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy.

Although the Hanlin Academy officials had no official rank or grade, as a group of upright officials distinct from corrupt local officials, they were the perfect candidates for the position of prime minister. Unfortunately, they were born at the wrong time, and in the current version, Hanlin Academy officials are no longer in demand.

The emperor believed more in the idea that "prime ministers should rise from the local government." This retrogressive behavior, although it coincided with the Fushe Society's principle of "reviving ancient learning and making it useful," was just too much of a retrogression!
Zhang Pu, who held himself in high esteem, was unwilling to face the fate of wasting half his life in the Hanlin Academy. So he resigned from his official post under the pretext of returning to his hometown to bury his relatives, thinking, "If this place doesn't want me, there are plenty of other places that will." He could go back to Nanjing to find a job, since there were many vacancies there. He had a wide circle of friends and was not afraid of not being able to pull strings.

As a result, the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing said that they could arrange a position for him, but the problem was that the emperor had fled, and the submitted petitions had not been approved.

The cabinet argued that without the emperor's approval, they dared not appoint officials casually, fearing the emperor would resent it upon his return; moreover, it wasn't a particularly important position, and the emperor had already instructed them not to bother him with anything other than matters of national importance, and that the couriers were already quite tired from running around. As a result, Zhang Pu found himself in a predicament.

He figured that since he couldn't become an official, he should just continue his classical literature movement. However, he overestimated himself. After gaining official rank and status, he could no longer concentrate on his studies.

He comforted himself by saying that he was not seeking power and position, but rather to fully display his practical learning and talent and realize his ideal of purifying officialdom. Even Confucius traveled all over the world seeking official positions, so there was nothing shameful about him learning from the sage's methods! So this year, he perked up again and had a new idea in mind.

However, Sun Chun seemed to intentionally or unintentionally ignore the dispute between the two leaders of the Fushe Society, and instead gazed at the imperial carriage outside the window with fascination, exclaiming, "A true man should be like this!"

"Pfft!" Zhang Cai couldn't hold back for a moment. Seeing Sun Chun's blank expression, she couldn't help but burst into laughter. She squatted down, clutching her stomach, laughing until tears streamed down her face.

Zhang Pu patted Sun Chun on the shoulder and said seriously, "Don't talk nonsense! The capital is not as carefree as our Jiangnan region. You could lose your head if you're not careful!"

After a while, the imperial guards on the street informed the innkeeper that he could open for business as usual. The innkeeper went up to the attic and told the guests that they could open the windows as usual.

"Let's go, let's go pay our respects to that esteemed person!" Zhang Pu said impatiently.

……

In the Ministry of Rites, Wen Tiren, as the Right Vice Minister of Rites, had his own two-courtyard office with his own subordinates. As the head of the office, he also had his own small private office, which prevented him from crowding with his subordinates. However, his inner frustration was still hard to dispel.

Each vice minister follows the principle of "left in charge of internal affairs, right in charge of external affairs." As the right vice minister, his job is to be in charge of foreign affairs, such as receiving foreign envoys, handling exchanges with tributary states, and formulating foreign etiquette norms. He will also participate in etiquette affairs related to border ethnic groups. The core is to connect with external etiquette and exchanges.

The problem is that the Ming Dynasty already had the Court of State Ceremonies, so his job became dispensable. During grand court assemblies and imperial examinations, he might be borrowed by the Minister to help with odd jobs, but on ordinary days he really had nothing to do.

Getting paid without doing any work sounds wonderful, but he's been in that position for ten years! Without a position, there's no power; without power, there's no money. He desperately wants to advance! When Wei Zhongxian was powerful, he helped impeach the Donglin Party, but Wei Zhongxian didn't take him seriously. He heard that Prince Xin deeply disliked Wei Zhongxian, having vowed to rid the country of this scourge when he was a prince. When Prince Xin ascended the throne, he thought his opportunity had arrived, so he switched sides and joined the righteous faction in impeaching the eunuchs. But the Donglin Party simply looked down on such a fickle and treacherous person.
The emperor went even further, completely ignoring him as if he didn't exist. This deeply affected Wen Tiren. Despite being a third-rank official, he felt he was worse off than those low-ranking officials with real power. He wanted to be promoted but couldn't, and he couldn't bear to leave. So he just drifted along and got by until now.

Officials of the Six Ministries followed the rule of "gathering in the morning and leaving in the evening" for commuting. They could order takeout for lunch, and there were also food stalls near the government offices. However, officials from ordinary families were not so well-off, so their family members would bring them food.

Normally, he wouldn't go back at noon, but Wen Tiren was different. He was so bored that he found going to the yamen every day quite agonizing, and he didn't want to stay there for even a second longer.

Moreover, in the dead of winter, the conditions in the yamen were really rudimentary. The bare wooden bed was cold, small, and narrow, making it unbearable. It would be better to go home and have a good sleep before going to work. He was the head of the yamen, and no one could control him. However, his habit was discovered by someone with ulterior motives.

Wen Tiren had just finished eating at home when the gatekeeper came to report that a young man from his hometown of Huzhou had come to visit.

Wen Tiren was a little confused. The humble title of "junior" was not something to be used casually. No matter what, he should be a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). If a family that had fallen on hard times came to him begging for food, he could understand. But a newly appointed Jinshi should at least be able to make a living. What was he doing coming to him, a marginal person? If it was about official matters, he was afraid he couldn't be of much help.

He opened the visiting card and scanned it. What were those three names? One was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) from the year of Wuchen, and the other was a Jinshi from the year of Xinwei. Hmm, the imperial examinations are a bit difficult these days. Only young talents can pass them.
However, what kind of scholar was this Sun Chun? He couldn't even pass the provincial examination, he was a good-for-nothing. How could a sparrow be allowed to stay with a swan? This kind of trash was not qualified to enter his door at all! However, he was intrigued and did not want to forcibly separate the three of them, so he could only hold his nose and let the gatekeeper let them in.

"This junior, Zhang Pu, greets Lord Wen. This is the 'Collection of One Hundred and Three Famous Writers from the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties,' which I oversaw the compilation of. The book contains the poetry and prose collections of more than one hundred famous writers from the Han, Wei, and Six Dynasties, totaling one hundred and forty-eight volumes. I have humbly written a 'preface' for each collection, and now I would like to ask you to present it to His Majesty!"

Wen Tiren looked the young man up and down, feeling that he had heard the name Zhang Pu somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. He said in a deep voice, "You've put in the effort, but don't you know that His Majesty dislikes poetry and literature?!"

"My friends and I from the literary society have raised 100,000 taels of silver, which we intend to present to His Majesty to fund the army. This is also our way of contributing to the recovery of our lost territories!" Zhang Pu said confidently.

“Zhang Pu, Zhang Cai…” Wen Tiren murmured, then suddenly realized, “You two are the two Zhangs from the Fushe Society who’s been making quite a stir in the south lately?!”

Zhang Pu cupped his hands and said, "I am honored by everyone's high regard for me and their recommendation of me as the leader of the Fushe Society."

Wen Tiren sneered, "You, Zhang Pu, you're so good at forming cliques, what are you really up to?!"

“Senior, you are wise. Our Fushe Society is just a literary society that makes friends through literature. How can it be considered a faction? We are all just working together to serve His Majesty!” Zhang Pu said without batting an eye.

Wen Tiren was silent for a moment, then asked, "How many of you are there?"

"Our Fushe Society brings together seventeen literary societies from fifteen prefectures, and now has more than two thousand two hundred members on the roster."

"Hiss!" Wen Tiren gasped. He wanted nothing more than to rush into the palace and report this damned Fushe Society to the emperor, ordering the arrest of these scoundrels! But then he hesitated, realizing this was a good opportunity for him.

“The two capitals are a thousand miles apart. You say you raised 100,000 taels of silver to support the army, but His Majesty only announced the expedition a few days ago. Did you sprout wings?!” Wen Tiren sneered.

Zhang Pu was somewhat embarrassed, but since he had been exposed, he could only tell the truth. The money was raised by them to donate to the imperial court to relieve the famine in Henan. However, after they came to the capital, they encountered the emperor's northern expedition and felt that the emperor should pay more attention to war than to people's livelihood, so they planned to change their pretext.

"You're so clever! Do you really think His Majesty is short of your tens of thousands of taels of military funds? Do you know that this year alone, over a million taels have been spent on winter clothing for the nine border regions!"

"This...this is just a small token of our appreciation!" Zhang Pu's voice sounded somewhat unsure.

“Since you raised this money in the name of disaster relief, then present it to His Majesty in the name of disaster relief. I’ll take care of this for you. As for whether you can get what you want and be given important positions by His Majesty, that depends on your own fate,” Wen Tiren said calmly.

Zhang Pu was somewhat annoyed by what he was being said, but he knew he had to be polite when asking for a favor. He swallowed his anger and said respectfully, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sir!"

(End of this chapter)