Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 317 Dad! How about we switch places?

Zhou Yingbin was about to lose his temper, but after learning the old man's identity, he immediately lost all anger.

After all, the upright officials had already elevated Zhang Siwei to a pedestal in private, portraying him as a hero who fought against the tyranny of the Zhang family. They believed that he would surely be remembered in history once the Zhang family fell from power.

What the students could not accept was Zhang Siwei's attitude in Xishan.

“You bunch of pedantic scholars, you only know how to judge food by its appearance. My words as an old woman have no effect, but Mr. Ziwei’s words have a lot of influence.”

"Speaking of which, Mr. Ziwei is quite a character. When he first arrived, he was crazy and everyone avoided him. But after a while, Mr. Ziwei suddenly changed his personality and started working in the workshop every day. He was also very friendly with us soldiers."

"He also tutors many children in the village, helping them with their studies and teaching them things they don't understand in school."

The cook muttered and berated the students as she served them food.

The students were indignant, but dared not utter a word of rebuttal, for if they dared to speak disrespectfully, they would truly go hungry.

Most of the people in Xishan did not know Zhang Siwei's identity, but they could sense that he was no ordinary person.

However, the people's views are simple. Zhang Siwei is law-abiding and helps teach children in the village and team. Over time, everyone is willing to accept him.

Zhou Yingbin, however, was trembling with anger as he waved his fist and said.

"Nonsense! Utter nonsense! Mr. Ziwei is enduring humiliation and bearing heavy burdens; how could he possibly collude with you Xishan!"

"Brother Jiafu!" A student tried to stop him and share some of his food with him, but Zhou Yingbin ran away without looking back.

The cook seemed unfazed: "Many people come to see Mr. Ziwei, and they all seem like that madman from earlier."

She even helped give directions.

"Hey~ not that direction~ Mr. Ziwei lives in the south~ in the south~"

Following the direction Zhang Siwei left, Zhou Yingbin was starving. After running a few steps, he felt as if his soul had been ripped out.

Swaying unsteadily, they finally spotted Zhang Siwei in a small courtyard.

This courtyard is no different from the houses of ordinary people in Xishan, and even appears more secluded and cramped.

The courtyard stood alone and conspicuous; otherwise, Zhou Yingbin would not have been able to find it so easily.

He slowly walked into the courtyard and found it to be very tidy, obviously cleaned every day. In the corner, he could see some unused inkstones and brushes, giving it the feel of a down-on-his-luck scholar's home.

Before long, he saw Zhang Siwei sitting by the window, writing in the bright sunlight outside.

Zhang Siwei's furious writing suggests he is very attentive to the content of the article.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yingbin was immediately overjoyed.

I knew that Mr. Ziwei would not collude with Zhang Shiyuan; he must be collecting evidence of Zhang's crimes in Xishan!

I will consult with Mr. Ziwei properly, and I believe that with his guidance, I will be able to make a name for myself.

He immediately and eagerly began to read the article.

But what I saw was
"Wang Erhu, you had some questions about the pheasant and rabbit in the same cage in the arithmetic classic yesterday. Although mathematics is a minor skill, it contains the principle of investigating things to gain knowledge, so you must not be careless. I have a method that can help you understand it. Think about it: if you ask the animals in the cage to lift half a foot each..."

"Liu Gou Dan, I already know about your studies, but handwriting is a reflection of a person's appearance. You have excellent talent, yet your handwriting is crooked and messy."

"If Brother Li wants to write articles, he must not be overly ambitious. He should carefully appreciate the beauty of classical Chinese sentence structure and ponder the ingenuity of the chapter layout. The content of the *Jingji Daily* is obscure and somewhat biased, but it is more accessible and easier to understand than the *Wanli Xinbao*. You can read it often."

Upon seeing this, Zhou Yingbin's previously upturned lips instantly fell, and he couldn't help but say something.

"How could this be?"

Zhang Siwei poured a cup of tea and handed it to Zhou Yingbin, who was wolfing down a plate of sesame seed cakes. The latter was muttering something unintelligible, but he kept stuffing sesame seed cakes into his mouth, clearly extremely hungry.

"When you are hungry, food is easy to eat, but when you are full, it is hard to taste. You are used to living in luxury, and even the most delicious food tastes bland. Today, as you reminisce about the past in Xishan, even a simple sesame seed cake can be a delicacy."

Zhang Siwei sat down opposite him, looking at the rude student from the Imperial Academy, clearly not taking the offense to heart.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yingbin nearly choked, and only managed to swallow the sesame seed cake in his mouth with a sip of tea.

He quickly stood up, bowed, and said...

"Student Zhou Yingbin pays his respects to Mr. Ziwei. I have offended you in the past, and I ask for your forgiveness."

Zhang Siwei shook his head and said, "You shouldn't be asking me for forgiveness. You should be asking Lin Si Niang in the dining hall for forgiveness. She was just following the rules. Why are you making things difficult for her just because you are students?"

He squinted, looking quite disappointed.

"A gentleman treats others with benevolence, yet you fawn over those in high positions and raise your eyebrows at those in humble circumstances. Where have you learned all the classics?"

Zhou Yingbin was so frightened that his face turned ashen, and he stammered.

"Students.Students"

Zhang Siwei waved his hand and said, "Your arrival at Xishan today is an opportunity. Go and look around, learn some principles from the people of Xishan, and don't linger here with me."

Learn principles from the illiterate people of Xishan?

Zhou Yingbin was completely stunned. He gritted his teeth and couldn't help but ask.

"Mr. Ziwei, there is something I am not sure if I should say."

"Then don't say it."

Zhang Siwei got up and left, clearly intending to see the guest out.

Zhou Yingbin blushed and immediately noticed the many patches on Zhang Siwei's clothes, including a hole in the cuff. He couldn't help but speak up.

"Are you willing to suffer such humiliation, sir?"

His voice was almost a roar as he pointed to the simple and dilapidated furnishings inside the house.

"Sir, you were a Jinshi in the thirty-second year of the Jiajing reign. You have served as a Hanlin Academy Academician, Minister of Rites, and Grand Secretary of the Dongge Pavilion. You are a man of great talent and have the potential to be a prime minister!"

If one fails, must one waste one's life here, eating simple meals every day, suffering under the tutelage of ignorant soldiers, and becoming a schoolteacher whose job even a child could hold!

"Sir, are you still not awake, blinded by Zhang Shiyuan?"

Clearly, Zhang Siwei's "betrayal," coupled with Xu Jie's defeat today, has completely shattered Zhou Yingbin's worldview.

This contradicts the truth he previously believed in and was convinced of.

Without turning his head, Zhang Siwei said, "What's it to you?"

"It's definitely related!"

Zhou Yingbin, having eaten his fill and regained his strength, stared wide-eyed and spoke.

"Sir, you could have been a role model for all people, preserving your reputation for a lifetime, or you could have endured hardship and bided your time to find an opportunity to set things right."

You bear the expectations of scholars across the land, and we eagerly await your return to public life, yet you waste your time here.

A high-ranking official of the current dynasty was actually teaching arithmetic to a group of young children, and even learning the principles of Zhang Shiyuan's new school of thought.

"Mr. Ziwei, do you have any respect for your past self?"

Zhou Yingbin spoke with great passion, as if the other party had truly committed a heinous crime and he was about to set things right.

Seeing that Zhang Siwei had no reaction, he took two steps forward and tore the manuscript on the table to shreds.

He tore at the document while cursing.

"Liu Bei once lamented, 'I haven't ridden a horse in a long time, and flesh has grown on my thighs. Old age is approaching, yet I have not accomplished anything; this is why I am sad!'"

Sir, are you still going to remain so stubbornly ignorant?
If that's your mindset, sir, you might as well have been killed by Zhang Shiyuan back then; at least then you would have earned a clean reputation in history!

Zhou Yingbin's rant was incredibly powerful and moving. Zhang Siwei initially didn't want to pay attention, but when he turned around, he immediately saw the torn manuscript and his gaze gradually turned cold.

Zhou Yingbin was startled and sensed the hostility in the eyes. He stammered.

"This is a disgraceful object! How can you, Mr. Ziwei, waste your time here? I am a student of the Imperial Academy, and you were once a high-ranking official! Student... student!"

But Zhang Siwei didn't listen to his explanation at all. He took a few quick steps forward and grabbed his collar.

After several months of rigorous training, Zhang Siwei's body not only didn't become exhausted, but instead became even more robust, lifting Zhou Yingbin up like a chick.

With a "smack," Zhang Siwei slapped him hard across the face and shouted angrily.

"You dog! I kindly gave you a meal, and you repay kindness with enmity, criticizing me instead. Do you really think I'm someone you can bully?"

"Stubborn to the end? To be remembered in history? Bah!"

Zhang Siwei spat, his sore spot had been hit, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"When I was down on my luck and was condemned by everyone, did you ever offer me the slightest help?"

As he punched and kicked, he seemed to be venting all the grievances in his heart. "My relatives expelled me from the clan, fearing that I would cause trouble. My wife, children, and elderly parents all avoid me like the plague. My old friends are all like strangers!"
Where else can I go? Go back to my hometown and be bullied? Continue being a frontline soldier, charging into battle for others?

In the past, Zhang Siwei naturally harbored resentment about his experiences in Xishan.

Zhang Yunxiu deliberately tricked him into coming to Xishan, which he saw as nothing less than an insult.

But as time went on, he gradually realized that Xishan seemed to be the best place for him to settle down.

Compared to outside, it's much purer here. The people don't know their own identities, and the treatment in Xishan is quite generous. Everything is distributed according to work done; you get paid according to how much work you do.

Zhang Siwei is extremely knowledgeable and can be considered a highly sought-after "talent" in Xishan.

Even though there were occasional surveillance by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, as long as he behaved himself, no one would bother him.

If I were to return to my hometown in Shanxi, would the situation be the same?

He would probably have been devoured by those profit-driven Shanxi merchants long ago. Once he lost power, he was worse off than a dog. Zhang Siwei used to be blinded by power, but now, after several months of "re-education" in Xishan, he has gradually come to understand everything.

Zhou Yingbin was beaten black and blue, his eyes were crooked and his mouth was distorted. He lay on the ground like a dying shrimp.

Tears streamed down his face. He never imagined that the once gentle and refined Mr. Ziwei would be so ruthless.

All I wanted to do was set things right!

He stammered out a sentence through gritted teeth.

"Sir, you have been misled and deceived by Zhang Shiyuan."

"Fake news!"

Zhang Siwei raised his big foot and stomped straight down on Zhou Yingbin's face.

The latter fainted immediately.

"Only after witnessing the magnificent scenery of West Mountain today have I realized the extraordinary talent of Zhang Shiyuan."

Li Zhi wiped the sweat from his face and couldn't help but sigh.

By this time, the sky was gradually darkening, and I had helped a family repair their broken loom.

"Brother Wei's family is comparable to a well-off family in Jiangnan. The rice jar is full, and all three children in the family can go to school. He works in the glass workshop in Xishan, while his wife stays at home spinning and weaving to supplement the family income. The saying 'men till the fields and women weave' is exactly what it means."

To be honest, Yuan Wenwei had always been prejudiced against Xishan, but after seeing it with his own eyes today, he had to admit it.

Zhang Yunxiu may seem unreliable, but his teachings in Xishan were extremely successful. Compared to him, the scholar-officials who only wrote moral essays in their studies seemed insignificant.

“One household is not unusual,” Li Zhi said, his face flushed. “But the fact that nearly ten thousand households in Xishan are able to live and work in peace and contentment is truly an unprecedented wonder.”

What interested Li Zhi most was the management system in Xishan Village, which was different from the Baojia system and the village elder system in the past Ming Dynasty villages.

The grassroots system in Xishan is more like a product of the military, combining the organizational structure of the workshops and establishing positions such as squad leader, captain, and battalion commander.

In the village, for routine management, units below the battalion commander level can be elected by the villagers themselves, while units above the battalion commander level are established by the management committee.

"This is true people-centeredness!"

Li Zhi was trembling with excitement as he clutched the five work point receipts given to him by the villagers.

But Yuan Wenwei raised a question at an inopportune time.

"The Book of Rites says, 'When the Great Way prevails, the world is for all.' Zhang Shiyuan's idea is indeed good, but in the end he is still concerned about his own gains and losses. Otherwise, why would key positions and key systems still need to be established by some management committee?"

"Those with shallow views are arrogant!" Li Zhi slapped the back of the head again. "Is this how the principle of 'the world belongs to all' is applied? If the people are uneducated and the world cannot understand reason and affairs, what are you talking about regarding 'the world belongs to all'?"

He said it meaningfully.

"If the person who wields the divine weapon is not reasonable and discerning, then trouble will surely follow."

Li Zhi narrowed his eyes again: "The Book of Rites also says, 'The Great Harmony means that people do not only love their own parents and children, but also ensure that the elderly are cared for until their end, the able-bodied are employed, and the young are nurtured.'"
The ideal of a harmonious world, sought by Confucianism, has unexpectedly been recreated in Xishan today. Can those scholars who are now vehemently criticizing it still distort the truth?

Yuan Wenwei clutched his stomach and said, "Sir, we've expended a lot of energy today. Let's head to the canteen first. I've heard that their sweet and sour fish is exceptional. At noon, we didn't even have enough work points, but now we should have enough."

Li Zhi said irritably, "All you think about is food. It's still early, and we have important business to attend to. If things are done well, I'll beg you for sweet and sour fish, or even West Lake vinegar fish from Jiangnan."

Upon hearing the name "West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce," Yuan Wenwei's expression immediately changed.

"Sir, let's have sweet and sour fish instead."

“I’m not in a hurry.” Li Zhi walked forward on his own. “Since I’m here in Xishan today, I have to go and take a look at the Xishan Military Farm.”

Compared to the mechanical workshops, textile workshops and other places where miracles frequently occurred, Li Zhi paid more attention to the military agricultural settlements, because the military agricultural settlements were the ones that were truly related to the livelihood of the people.

Yuan Wenwei helplessly reminded him, "Sir, didn't you already ask? The military settlement is a key area in Xishan and is not open to the public."

"Wasn't it said there would be exceptions?"

Yuan Wenwei looked at Li Zhi as if he were a fool: "Even for the common people of Xishan, it is not easy to enter the military settlement. There are layers of Imperial Guards guarding it. Unless you want to join the military settlement, sir."

He looked him up and down.

"The gentleman doesn't look like someone who can farm."

Li Zhi shook his head and said, "You forgot, apart from the military settlements, if you are a disciple personally taught by Zhang Shiyuan, you can freely enter and leave the military settlements to learn about various matters."

Yuan Wenwei's body stiffened instantly: "Sir, you..."

Li Zhi's eyes were unusually firm, and his body trembled slightly.

"I have devoted my entire life to hoping that one day my Great Ming Dynasty can achieve the ideal of a harmonious and prosperous society, as described in the Book of Rites."

Therefore, he devoted himself to studying classics until his hair turned white, spending his days lecturing, researching, and exchanging ideas and debates with others.

Having wasted decades of my life, I now realize that this Western Hills is my true home.

However, simply joining Xishan without learning any real skills is also not advisable.

It's better to see this good deed through to the end.

I, Li Zhi, then became Zhang Shiyuan's disciple, his personal student. Isn't that wonderful?

boom!
Yuan Wenwei felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and he was almost petrified.

His worst fears have finally come true.

With a thud, Yuan Wenwei knelt down straight, his expression a mixture of resentment and earnestness.

"Old man! You need to think twice!"

For most Beijing residents, the Western Hills were an extremely magical place.

In recent days, scholars, gentry, and merchants have been flocking to the place, and the people who come out are in two extremes.

Otherwise, they look as if they have lost their parents, as if the Western Hills were some kind of demonic land, completely drained of its vitality.

Otherwise, his eyes would light up, and he would look excited, becoming somewhat neurotic.

Of course, what the people of Beijing are most concerned about is the situation of another person.

Xu Jie is ill.

Since the "decisive battle" at the Xishan Theater that day, Xu Jie had been bedridden at the post station.

Some people say that Xu, the Grand Secretary, was so angry that he suffered a stroke and was already nearing his end.

Some people say that Grand Secretary Xu was biding his time to lull the Zhang family into a false sense of security.

Rumors circulated among the common people, and from time to time, news would spread that Xu Jie had passed away.

As the rumors spread, another voice emerged in the market: that Zhang Juzheng and Zhang Yunxiu had become enemies due to their differing political views.

In the capital of the Ming Dynasty, which was just before the New Year, this period was exceptionally lively.

"Damn old man!"

Zhang Yunxiu kicked open the study door, strode forward, slammed a document on the table, looked at Zhang Juzheng who was reviewing official documents, and said angrily.

"How do you explain these messages! Zhang Jiangling, you dog! Your great cause is not yet complete, yet you dare to slander me. Do you want to seize power?"

He stood with his arms crossed, looking arrogant and bossy.

"If you really want this West Mountain, then that's easy. We can switch places. I'll be the Grand Secretary, and you can be the leader of West Mountain."

Zhang Juzheng frowned, picked up the document and looked at it, and a smile appeared on his lips that he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Hey~ You're pretty well-informed, aren't you? How did you manage that?"

(End of this chapter)