Top Scholar

Chapter 649 Wang Ao's Determination

Jiao Fang blushed deeply after being scolded and quickly defended herself:

"How could I let him be so presumptuous! I confronted him on the spot and said that this was His Highness's and the Emperor's will! But that Wang fellow was prepared and said something like 'the regulations are contrary to the established laws and may cause chaos in the world,' and he made a series of eloquent arguments. I really couldn't argue with him."

"Aren't you quick to resort to violence? If you can't win an argument, then resort to violence!" Liu Jin slammed his hand on the table and said.

"He has a stick, I can't beat him with my bare hands..." Jiao Fang said dejectedly.

"You can't win an argument, and you can't fight? What use are you? I'd rather keep a dog in the Wenyuan Pavilion!" Liu Jin asked angrily, "And what about Li Dongyang? Doesn't he ever fart?!"

Jiao Fang muttered, "That old fox is sick again..."

"Damn it, that mangy dog!" Liu Jin spat out a mouthful of pent-up anger. "He's always trying to smooth things over with us, but when we need him, he pretends to be sick and cowers!"

After he finished cursing and took a few deep breaths, he still had to ask Jiao Fang, "So tell me, what should we do now?"

Jiao Fang's gaze darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying, "It's simple, just bypass the cabinet! Let the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs take the lead, uniting the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Office of Transmission to publish the 'Exemplary Regulations' directly throughout the land! Let's see what he does then!"

Upon hearing this outrageous plan, Liu Jin hesitated and asked, "Wouldn't this completely sever ties with the cabinet? Is that in accordance with the rules?"

"What's wrong with the rules?!" Jiao Fang was determined; since things had already turned ugly, she didn't care about overturning the table or smashing the bowls!
Since we're not letting him sit at the table, then nobody should eat!
"Your Majesty, as the Director of the Directorate of Ceremonial, you are essentially acting on behalf of the Emperor! This promulgation of the 'Regulations for Actual Conduct' is a crucial step in moving from behind the scenes to the forefront, and in legitimately governing the country." He then strongly urged:
"Li, Wang, Yang and their ilk also saw the danger of the cabinet being marginalized, which is why the man surnamed Wang jumped out to vehemently oppose it. But the more they oppose it, the more we must do it! As long as the 'Precedents' are promulgated throughout the land and become the rule for all ages, it will be the law for the next thousand years. Who in the entire court would dare to utter a single word of dissent?"

As he spoke, he clasped his hands in a fist and said emotionally, "Only you could implement reforms without any hindrance, saving the Ming Dynasty from dire straits!"

Liu Jin stared intently at the broken porcelain shards on the ground. Jiao Fang's words were like a fire, igniting all the pent-up anger, resentment, and unwillingness within him.

Over the years, no matter what he wanted to do, there were always people gossiping and secretly sabotaging him, making it impossible for him to accomplish anything!

Of the eighty-five articles in the "Regulations for the Implementation of the Law," very few have actually been put into practice... That's why he wanted to use this method to turn the eighty-five articles into the law, so that people would not dare to criticize them and would have to abide by them!

Only in this way can the Ming Dynasty get out of its predicament and return to the Hongwu era!
Thinking of this, he nodded heavily and squeezed out a single word through gritted teeth:

"Dry!"

~~
Once Eunuch Liu sets his mind on something, he is truly decisive, ruthless, and unscrupulous!

In order to forcefully push through the "Examples of Conduct," he directly held the knives of court flogging, demotion, and confiscation of property to the necks of the Six Ministries' Censors, who held the power to reject imperial edicts, strictly ordering them not to make any unwarranted comments or obstruct the matter, thus firmly suppressing this last line of defense that could check and balance imperial decrees.

Those officials who should have upheld the bottom line for the court either remained silent out of fear of Liu Jin's tyranny or actively flattered him out of greed for personal gain, and one by one they truly became mere figureheads...

Of course, there were always some in the vast Six Departments who refused to compromise their principles.

Seeing Liu Jin so arrogantly suppressing dissent, and all the other officials remaining silent and pretending to be deaf and dumb, Xu Tianxi, an official in charge of engineering, was filled with resentment that was about to explode!

Of course, he also knew that if he were to report and expose the truth, he would inevitably suffer the fate of losing his family and his life, so he simply decided to remonstrate with his corpse.

Xu Tianxi wrote the petition to the Dengwen Drum overnight, intending for his family to submit it after his death. That night, his wife and children were not by his side, only his servant was with him. He handed the sealed petition to the servant, instructing him to send it to the Office of Transmission. After the servant left, he hanged himself.

Unexpectedly, fearing the annihilation of his entire family, the servant secretly fled overnight with the memorial to the throne, disappearing without a trace...

Three days later, his colleagues went to his home to look for him, only to find that he had hanged himself. Those who knew the inside story were all heartbroken...

Rumors circulated that Liu Jin, fearing Xu Tianxi would expose his crimes, sent secret agents from the imperial guards to strangle him overnight and stage it as a suicide.

Some say that the servant boy had actually been silenced by Liu Jin's men long ago. In short, there are many conflicting accounts, and no way to verify them.

But Xu Tianxi's death undoubtedly illustrates the terror of Liu Jin's tyranny and the difficult situation of officials during the Zhengde era...

On the other hand, Liu Jin used the sweet treat of being promoted to the cabinet and the threatening blow of being demoted to pressure the nine ministers one by one, forcing them to co-sign their memorials.

Xu Tianxi's death clearly frightened the ministers, and none dared to raise any objections. In just a few days, Eunuch Liu actually managed to gather all the signatures, ready to present them to His Majesty on the day of the grand court session, so that this "Exemplary Precepts" that had cemented his position could be promulgated throughout the land!
~~
"What?! All six ministries and nine ministers have signed their names?!"

Upon hearing the news brought by Su Lu, Wang Ao's teacup, which he had just picked up, suddenly trembled. He didn't even notice the scalding hot tea spilling onto the back of his hand, and he just stood there speechless for a long time.

He always thought that even if the world was going to the dogs, it wouldn't be to the point that the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers had all lost their principles and sided with powerful eunuchs. But the cruel reality was right in front of him, chilling him to the bone...

"Since when has currying favor with the eunuch faction and pandering to them become the norm? Is Xu Tianxi the only exception among all the officials in the court?" Wang Ao said with endless sorrow. "Not exactly, it's just that Liu Jin replaced the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers with his own cronies, some of them several times, just to ensure he could control them," Su Lu quickly comforted his teacher. "So this result is not unexpected."

“Yes,” Wang Ao nodded. “Over the years, anyone with a modicum of integrity who refused to submit has either died, been demoted, or resigned. They were all purged by Liu Jin long ago. Those still sitting in the positions of the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers are either old foxes who only seek to protect themselves or sycophants who fawn over the eunuch faction. It’s truly an unprecedented level of ugliness!”

As he spoke, he looked up at Su Lu and said in a heavy tone, "Do you think that the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet are all spineless sycophants?"

"I would never have such a thought!" Su Lu quickly shook his head.

"Very well." A cold glint suddenly flashed in Wang Ao's eyes, and he said decisively, "No matter what, I will show you tomorrow what the integrity of a Grand Scholar is!"

"Teacher! You mustn't act impulsively!" Su Lu's heart sank, and he quickly stood up to persuade him, "I'll speak to the Emperor tomorrow..."

“I’ve already told you not to get involved in this,” Wang Ao waved his hand firmly, “Each generation has its own tasks. Liu Jin is the enemy of our generation. How can we pass the responsibility of dealing with him to a kid like you who has only been in officialdom for a year?”

"Teacher, I can do it!" Su Lu said anxiously. "I really can! Please don't do anything foolish!"

"Don't worry," Wang Ao smiled, "I won't follow Xu Tianxi's example; I'll just resign from my official post..."

"teacher……"

"Alright, stop trying to persuade me." Wang Ao waved his hand and said, "After I resign, my students will still need your care. I'm entrusting them to you, Hongzhi."

As he spoke, he straightened his clothes, stood up, and bowed deeply to him.

"Yes, teacher..." Su Lu had no choice but to return the greeting and respect the teacher's choice.

~~
Night had fallen, and the moonlight cast the shadows of the trees onto the window, the shadows flickering in the breeze.

In the outer room of the bedroom, a solitary lamp flickered dimly. Ru Hua, who was on night duty, sat leaning against the table, resting her chin on her hand, nodding and dozing off incessantly.

Su Lu lay on the bed in the inner room, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Huang E, who was beside him, was awakened by his slight movement, but she did not scold him at all. She simply raised her hand gently, stroked his cheek, and asked softly, "Husband, what are you thinking about?"

Su Lu snapped out of his daze, took his wife's hand in return, and said apologetically, "Did I disturb you?"

"No." Huang E shook her head, then leaned closer to him, resting her head on his arm. Her eyes were gentle as she said, "I just woke up from a nap. You seem restless; is something on your mind? Can you tell me?"

“Sigh…” Su Lu sighed, “I’m thinking about tomorrow’s court assembly.”

Huang E chuckled lightly: "The officials will take charge of the court assembly. You're not a court attendant, so why are you worrying about this?"

"My teacher plans to resign from his post and advise the emperor at tomorrow's morning court session, but no matter how he tries, it's no use," Su Lu said in a low voice.

"Yes, I heard him mention this last time. Husband, this is our teacher's own choice, you can't change it." Huang E said with apparent understanding, not surprised at all.
"The convictions of elders are never easily swayed by younger generations..."

“I know,” Su Lu nodded, but his brow was still furrowed. “But I keep thinking, if I were willing to persuade the Emperor to stop the ‘Example’, would my teacher have had to resign and fight for power?”

"Where did you get such a foolish idea?" Huang E raised her slender finger and gently touched his brow, saying with helpless tenderness:

"How can you take all the responsibility upon yourself? In such a vast Ming Dynasty, are you the only official? Besides, the Master is a Grand Secretary of the First Rank, and he has his own pride and principles. How can we expect you to handle everything perfectly?"

“That makes sense.” Su Lu nodded, his brows relaxing a bit. “So I didn’t try to persuade him any further.”

He paused, then whispered to his wife, as if asking himself:
"I just feel that my previous thinking was perhaps too simplistic..."

"What are your thoughts?" Huang E asked softly.

“Yes…” Su Lu was speechless for a moment. He then realized that he found it difficult to even tell his closest wife about his desire to keep Liu Jin as a shield and scapegoat, as well as his thoughts about the civil official's treasure.

He had always felt that by keeping Eunuch Liu around, he could avoid a lot of open and covert attacks, and that it would be easier to implement new policies without the obstruction of civil officials.

Only now did he belatedly realize that his secret support for Liu Jin was clearly stabbing good officials like Wang Ao and Xu Tianxi in the heart!

(End of this chapter)