Top Scholar

Chapter 228 The Angry Old Mountain Chief

Seeing that the old headmaster was in low spirits, Su Lu gently comforted him, "Headmaster, don't worry. Someone will always do what needs to be done."

“Yes, Headmaster! There are always scholars who study and become officials for the country and the people, not just for their own selfish interests!” Zhu Zihe also said generously, “If no one does it, then we will wait until we enter officialdom in the future to do it!”

Su Lu glanced at Zhu Zihe and nodded, adding a condition: "If we can really get to that point..."

"Good, good." The old mountain chief smiled with relief, his gloom dispelled. "I certainly won't live to see that day, but I believe you will not let me down."

"Because in you I see myself when I was young..." The old abbot exhaled a long breath, involuntarily falling into reminiscence:

"I passed the imperial examination in the second year of the Chenghua reign and was selected as a junior official. After completing my studies, I could have stayed in the Hanlin Academy and continued my path to a prestigious position, but I insisted on being transferred to a post outside the capital. At that time, the country was plagued by internal troubles, frequent disasters and epidemics, an empty treasury, and unrest among the people. Famines were occurring in all provinces, and there were uprisings by the people and barbarians everywhere. To put it bluntly, there were signs of the country's impending doom."

Su Lu and the other nodded. The fact that the Ming Dynasty wasn't brought down by overseas students could only be attributed to the fact that it was acquired too righteously...

"Emperor Xianzong was in his early twenties at the time, yet he was constantly worried, working tirelessly day and night, trying to restore order and turn the tide. We, his subjects, are deeply indebted to the nation; how could we turn a blind eye to all this and content ourselves with dabbling in literature among scholars?" The old abbot slowly recalled his official career, saying:

"In addition, I was already quite old at that time, and I really didn't want to continue wasting my time, so I resolutely went on tour to Lingnan. After that, I served in the Censorate for many years, serving as an Imperial Censor, a Supervising Secretary, then as the Vice Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Jiangxi, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Zhejiang, the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Huguang, and finally retired as the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief of Nanjing."

"It can be considered as making a small contribution to stabilizing the political situation in the Chenghua era and creating the Hongzhi Restoration." The old abbot said with an apologetic smile, "When people get old, they always reminisce about the past without considering whether others want to hear it."

"We love listening, please continue." Su Lu and Zhu Zihe nodded hurriedly. As long as the old headmaster wasn't so depressed, what did it matter if they listened to him ramble on for a whole morning?
"My abilities are average, and my skills are limited, but there is one thing I am very proud of: I have never wavered in my original intention. Before doing anything, I always ask whether it benefits the country and its people. If it benefits me, I will do it even if it harms my career and reputation. Conversely, if it harms the people, I will not do it no matter how great the benefit it may be to me." The old abbot said with a proud smile.

"Don't underestimate this point. Over the past thirty years, I have seen too many officials in the two capitals and various provinces. When they first entered officialdom, most of them were full of enthusiasm and ideals of self-cultivation, family harmony, and national peace. But gradually, they were battered and bruised by the cruel reality, their edges were worn away, and they became complacent and even corrupt. Almost no one can still stick to their original aspirations after twenty years in office."

"Now I understand why the imperial court designed a prestigious and virtuous path for Hanlin scholars, and why only Hanlin scholars could enter the Grand Secretariat. It's because they needed to preserve their spirit and ideals to lead the officials." The old headmaster raised his voice as he spoke:
"Sheep have their leader, horses have their leader, and so do people. The vast majority of people are led, and officials are no exception. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that the leaders of the officials are not deeply corrupted, but still have enough ideals and drive to uphold the fairness and justice of the court and to tackle the deep-seated problems of the country!"

"But the three Grand Secretaries of today have been in the cabinet for too long, their spirits have long been exhausted, and they are unwilling to tackle any tough challenges. What's even more terrifying is that they have been in power for so long that they are deeply mired in corruption; the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers are all their cronies, and the Censors and censors are merely their henchmen. They have become one with all the officials in the court, indistinguishable from one another!" The old headmaster pointed to the official records in Su Lu's hand, and said with great sorrow:
"They are no longer the same people they once were; they have failed the late emperor's trust! Otherwise, how could they have allowed their subordinates to commit such disgraceful acts?"

"Old Headmaster..." Headmaster Zhou, who had been pretending to be deaf and dumb all along, finally couldn't hold back anymore, thinking to himself that there's a limit to how senile one can be.

"The three eunuchs, Liu, Li, and Xie, were loyal to the country and devoted to their duties, with a reputation for integrity that spread throughout the land! They served the late emperor well from beginning to end and were virtuous ministers comparable to the Three Yangs. Without them, there would have been no Hongzhi Restoration. Your prejudice against them is too deep!"

"Heh, wise minister..." Pang Shanzhang sneered, "You're just a mere scholar, and all you've heard are embellished and processed news. Now that the court is full of upright officials, there are countless people praising and advocating for the two ministers, Liu and Xie!"

"Liu Luoyang has the best reputation, he's practically the Fan Zhongyan of this dynasty, yet he appointed his fellow townsmen as seventh-rank officials in the capital without going through the imperial examinations! Xie Yuyao's reputation is slightly worse because his family openly violated the maritime ban and acted as a protector of smuggling throughout the southeast. When I was in the Nanjing Metropolitan Censorate, I wanted to investigate the Xie family, but I was forced to retire."

"Li Chaling was a senior member of our Hanlin Academy. As the Second Grand Secretary, he was ordered to go to Qufu to pay homage to Confucius last year. After returning to the capital, he wrote a memorial to the throne, directly stating the difficult situation of the times. However, the cabinet did not even report it to him!" Pang Shanchang said coldly.
"He had a falling out with Liu and Xie because of this, and in a fit of resentment, he included it in his poetry collection, printed some copies himself, and sent them to us old friends to take a look."

As he spoke, he ordered Su Lu to fetch the book "Dong Si Lu" from the bookshelf in the room, and then let the three of them look at it again after turning to the middle.

The three men then saw that it was a memorial entitled "A Memorial on Understanding the People's Conditions," which had been hidden in the poetry and prose collection of Li Dongyang, the Second Grand Secretary of the Cabinet—a truly bizarre occurrence. The contents were even more shocking—

"When I passed through the Lihe and Tianjin areas, what I saw... the men pulling ropes were emaciated, and those carrying hoes looked pale and sickly. Looking around, it was truly disheartening." "In Linqing, Anping, and other places, bandits roam freely, murderers and robbers are everywhere... Groups of hundreds of Hui bandits roam openly in broad daylight, without any restraint."

"Furthermore, I've heard from those who came from the south that the prefectures of Huaiyang are in dire straits—some are digging up and eating the dead, others are selling their people cheaply, and people are fleeing and looting, each trying to escape. As a result, the barren lands of Jiangnan and eastern Zhejiang stretch for thousands of miles. Although the imperial court has dispatched officials to provide relief and reduce expenditures and grain supplies, it's a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, and the losses don't outweigh the gains."

"Furthermore, the people are depleted, the army is sparsely populated, the government troops have no reserves for even a few days, and their salaries are owed for years. The southeast, which relies on tax revenue, has already suffered such a famine in just one year; the north is poor and has never accumulated any savings. If another famine occurs this year, how will they cope?"

After reading it, Zhou Shanzhang felt his worldview was completely shattered. If this hadn't been a memorial submitted by Li Dongyang last year, he would have definitely denounced it as a cult to mislead the public.

“How could this be? When I went to the capital for the imperial examination, everything along the way seemed normal…” Zhou Shanzhang murmured.

"Before I retired, the country was enjoying a period of prosperity and stability under the Hongzhi Emperor! In less than ten years, the wealth of two dynasties was completely squandered. A major disaster exposed its true colors. Is this what you call a wise minister in power, a peaceful and prosperous nation?" Headmaster Pang sneered at Headmaster Zhou, then said in a deep voice:
"Let's take another look at the good things that have been done under the leadership of Liu and Xie over the years—"

"The Criminal Law, promulgated in the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, officially removed the shackles that Emperor Taizu had placed on officials throughout the land. From then on, as long as officials did not commit treason, they could all pay money to redeem themselves for their crimes! Corruption and embezzlement became rampant from then on..."

"There was also the Zhang Tianxiang case in the sixteenth year of the Hongzhi reign, which shocked the world. The cabinet knew it was a miscarriage of justice, but they insisted on the original verdict by threatening that the late emperor did not trust the scholars and officials of the country! If it weren't for the late emperor's insistence, it would never have been overturned."

"Such things are countless, but the late emperor always preserved the dignity of his teacher, and in the end, he swallowed his anger..." Pang Shanzhang sighed.
"In fact, the Emperor's tolerance for them has reached its limit. It's just a pity that since the beginning of this dynasty, cabinet ministers are no longer appointed by special decree, but are recommended by the Nine Ministers and the Censorate. The Six Ministries and the Censorate are all students of the three Grand Secretaries. Even if the Emperor favors them, they can't enter the cabinet. What can be done? The Emperor's rule by doing nothing is what they want most."

"Does the emperor simply leave himself to be manipulated and be powerless to do anything about it?" Su Lu couldn't help but ask.

"Of course not." The old headmaster shook his head: "An emperor is an emperor after all. Once he makes up his mind to overturn the table, no one can sit down to eat! It's just that the late emperor could never bring himself to do it."

"But the late emperor seems to have decided to part ways with the masters..." The old headmaster's voice rose higher than ever before:
"At the beginning of this year, the late emperor ordered the Ministry of Personnel to work with the Censorate to investigate officials throughout the country. 802 were identified as old and frail, 698 as negligent, and 315 as incompetent. In addition, there were 5 who were corrupt and 16 who fled to avoid punishment. The late emperor dealt with 1,836 officials in one go, far more severely than before! Even the Minister of Personnel, Ma Wensheng, had no choice but to resign!"

"The late emperor also planned to reinstate Zhou Jing, the former Minister of Revenue, to the capital to resume his original post and be responsible for the nationwide census. Minister Zhou was a close confidant of the late emperor, but he was forced to retire due to his discord with the cabinet..."

"Furthermore, the late emperor promoted Jiao Fang to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, preparing to replace Ma Wensheng. He also recalled Liu Yu, the governor of Datong, to serve as the Right Vice Censor-in-Chief. At this point, everyone could see that the late emperor was preparing to take action against the monolithic court, but then he passed away so mysteriously, sob sob sob..."

The old abbot broke down in tears, his pent-up grief and sorrow finally erupting after hearing the shocking news of the mountain's collapse.

"Did you see that news in the official gazette—'Imprisoned Liu Wentai, the Imperial Physician who prescribed the wrong hot medicine and caused the death of the late Emperor'? Emperor Xianzong was also killed by him back then, sob sob..."

The old mountain guard's sobs grew louder and louder until he completely broke down, started rambling incoherently, and nearly fainted...

"The old abbot is overwhelmed with grief and has fainted. You should go to class now." Abbot Zhou hurriedly helped Abbot Pang up, dismissed Su Lu and the other two with a flick of his sleeve, and did not forget to instruct them: "Do not spread the old abbot's words to anyone outside, not even your family, or it will bring great disaster!"

"Yes." Su Lu and the other man watched with concern as the old mountain chief was helped into the house before leaving with heavy hearts.

P.S. I just finished writing this, and haven't checked the rest yet...

(End of this chapter)