Top Scholar

Chapter 650: Is Zihao brave?

The April night was comfortable and pleasant. A clear imprint of a bracelet lingered on her oval face, which resembled a painting; the pretty maidservant seemed to be fast asleep.

Inside the room, Su Lu remained wide awake. He was usually a very self-consistent person, but now he was unusually caught in a dilemma—

It is true that the civil service is a major threat to the country, but the term itself is problematic. They have never been a group with a unified goal or action plan, and there are no signs of them forming factions at this time.

Their harm to the country can be expressed more clearly in later terms—class interests. The interests of the civil service class, or rather, the landlord class, were completely at odds with the interests of the nation and its people.

As mentioned before, no one would willingly identify as a villain, and the civil service, in particular, generally possesses higher moral standards, making them far less likely to actively commit evil deeds than eunuchs and military generals. Therefore, the probability of producing truly virtuous and noble individuals is far greater than that of eunuchs and military generals.

Therefore, they absolutely did not actively and consistently undermine the foundation of the country, and even insisted that they were seriously governing and maintaining the country.

They were merely unconsciously protecting the interests of their own class while being 'loyal to the country'... but because they are the managers of this country, in the long run, this will objectively lead to national hardship and poverty for the people.

This group has never lacked hypocrites who are phony and self-serving, but it has also never lacked true gentlemen who truly uphold the teachings of the sages and aspire to cultivate themselves, regulate their families, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.

Standing in opposition to those true gentlemen who radiate idealism and are willing to sacrifice themselves for righteousness is a very painful thing...

He stared at the top of the tent for a long time before asking softly, "My wife, what should I do if there is something that everyone in the world thinks is wrong, but I think it is right?"

“Just as my husband said, truth is sometimes held by only a minority. Who thinks it's right and who thinks it's wrong isn't important. What matters is whether the matter itself is right or wrong.” Huang E raised her eyes, looking deeply into his gaze, her eyes clear and firm.
"Do you like bravery?"

Upon hearing this, Su Lu's eyes lit up, and he blurted out, "I have heard of the great courage of the Master! If, upon self-examination, I find no fault, even if I wear coarse clothes, I will not be afraid. If, upon self-examination, I find no fault, even if there are thousands or millions of people, I will go forth! Even if there are thousands or millions of people, I will go forth!"

Huang E's words come from Mencius, Gongsun Chou I, where Zengzi once asked Zixiang, "Are you brave?"

Su Lu's words were Zengzi's own question and answer. He said that he had heard about the principle of great courage from Confucius—self-reflection. If he was in the wrong, how could he not feel fear even when facing ordinary people dressed in coarse linen? If he had a clear conscience, he would bravely advance even when facing thousands of troops!

These words brought Su Lu great comfort. He held his wife's hand tightly and said, "With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?"

“My husband is very learned, and he has all these principles in his heart. But sometimes he is blinded by his own situation and needs my clear-headed advice.” Huang E held his hand tightly and spoke softly to him, helping him relax his tense nerves.

“But it must be so lonely,” she said with concern. “Does it really have to be this way?”

“Yes,” Su Lu said in a deep voice, “The serious crisis is right there, like the elephant in the room, only the blind, the foolish and the scoundrel would ignore it.”

As he spoke, he couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Just think about it, even someone like Eunuch Liu got angry."

“Then let’s do it.” Huang E nodded.

"Sigh, but if we do it my way, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and the disadvantages are actually not small either."

Huang E pondered for a moment, then asked softly, "Isn't there any other way?"

"No." Su Lu shook his head. In the face of class contradictions, no amount of trickery works. Only resolute struggle can ultimately lead to one class suppressing another!
“If we don’t do this, things will become even more difficult in the future.” Su Lu’s tone was heavy, but his eyes gradually became firm. “The Emperor and I will have to spend a lot of energy dealing with those endless obstacles, and every step forward will come at a huge cost.”

As he spoke, he sighed deeply and said, "In the end, we might not even achieve anything and change anything!"

"It seems my husband has made his decision." Huang E looked up at his relaxed brows and smiled knowingly.

“So just follow your heart. Do whatever you want. Because I know my husband’s ideal is to bring the Ming Dynasty back to life and to benefit all the people of the world. There is no higher ideal in the world than this.”

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms tightly around Su Lu's waist. "So, no matter what happens, don't waver, and don't blame yourself too much—because everything you've done has never been for yourself. Even if the day comes when everyone points fingers at you, I will be there to bear it with you."

Looking into Huang E's gentle yet firm eyes, Su Lu's anxiety and confusion completely vanished! He tightened his arms and held Huang E tightly in his embrace.

"My wife, it's so good to have you."

Huang E leaned quietly against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, a satisfied smile playing on her lips, and murmured, "I am truly blessed..."

~~
The next day was the monthly grand court assembly.

Before dawn, officials would travel from all parts of the capital by carriage or sedan chair to the left and right gates of Chang'an, and then walk to the Meridian Gate to await the court session.

The officials who arrived earlier huddled together in twos and threes, whispering about Xu Tianxi's death, their sighs of sorrow echoing throughout the room… Everyone knew that Section Chief Xu had died to stop the promulgation of the "Regulations," but no one dared to say it outright. Otherwise, they might be the next ones to be 'suicided.'

As the cabinet ministers arrived one after another, even whispers ceased to be heard in front of the Meridian Gate. The officials parted to the left and right, bowing their heads and silently lining up before the leaders.

Jiao Fang walked in the center of the eunuch faction, looking around with self-satisfaction, and said smugly to Zhang Cai beside him, "How about it? It still takes the old general to step up, doesn't it?"

"Hehe..." Zhang Cai twitched the corner of his mouth but didn't reply. There was nothing he could do; he'd really suffered a major setback.
Last month, he petitioned to abolish the regular inspections in the capital and replace them with irregular inspections of officials, and also required all officials of the fourth rank and above to "report themselves".

His original intention was to use this opportunity to rectify officialdom and tighten the reins of various government departments. Of course, he also intended to expand his own power. However, it caused all officials below the cabinet level to feel insecure and collectively submitted memorials requesting retirement. In the end, Zhu Houzhao had to personally intervene to persuade them to stay, which finally put the matter to rest.

He also lost the opportunity to promote the "Beijing Regulations" as a result, which allowed Jiao Fang, an old hand, to make a comeback.

One after the other, the three Grand Secretaries, Li, Wang, and Yang, arrived together. Upon seeing Li Dongyang, Jiao Fang immediately exclaimed with a laugh, "Oh, Master Yuan, you've recovered quite quickly this time?"

"Cough cough... It's just a slight cold," Li Dongyang coughed twice, his voice still weak, "I'm not fully recovered. If I don't come today, I'll have to wait until next month to see Your Majesty again."

"You've come at the perfect time, Master Yuan! I was just about to complain to you!" Jiao Fang said angrily, her face dark with anger. "Wang Zhenze openly defied Master Yuan's instructions and rejected the 'Examples of Conduct'!"

Li Dongyang sighed and looked down at the ivory tablet that had been polished to a patina: "According to custom, when I am absent, you all take turns writing it. If he wants to reject it, there is nothing I can do."

He paused, then glanced at Jiao Fang. "Besides, didn't Grand Secretary Jiao already urge Eunuch Liu to bypass the Grand Secretariat and directly get the Six Ministries and Nine Ministers to sign off on this? Why would he care about this?"

“That makes sense. Even without Wang the Butcher, do you think I can’t eat a pig with its hair on?” Jiao Fang snorted and flicked her wide sleeves. “I’m just telling you, now that things have come to this, all the responsibility lies with Wang Ao!”

Wang Ao, however, completely ignored him, not even glancing at him. He simply walked away and went straight to the group of officials from the Six Ministries, looking at them with a serious expression, and said in a deep voice:

"Feel your crotches, have your testicles shrunk back in?! Did Section Chief Xu just die for nothing?!"

All the officials lowered their heads in shame, clutching their wooden tablets tightly, none daring to respond.

"What's so great about taking your anger out on the younger generation?" Jiao Fang sneered, mocking Wang Ao. "If you're so capable, why don't you show them what you're made of in court later?"

"What I do is none of your business," Wang Ao said without even looking at him.

At this moment, the bells and drums on the Meridian Gate tower sounded in unison, and the heavy vermilion palace gates slowly opened.

Dressed in crimson robes embroidered with gold phoenixes, the imperial guards, holding long spears and golden maces, stood in neat rows on both sides of the imperial road.

After they had lined up, the officials, divided into civil and military officials and arranged according to their rank, entered the palace through the left and right side gates under the leadership of the Duke of Ying and Li Dongyang, and headed towards the Fengtian Hall.

Golden gourds, axes, stirrups pointing upwards, and ceremonial staffs were lined up in succession, with bright yellow dragon-patterned banners and feather fans extending all the way down the imperial steps. Horses and ceremonial horses adorned with golden saddles and silver stirrups stood beside the flag array, a magnificent display of imperial power, showing no sign of decline whatsoever.

After three cracks of the whip, the imperial carriage slowly emerged from behind the Fengtian Hall.

Zhu Houzhao wore a twelve-chapter imperial robe embroidered with the sun, moon and stars, and a flat crown with twelve swaying tassels that obscured his yawning face.

"His Majesty has arrived!" the master of ceremonies announced loudly, and all the officials shouted "Long live the Emperor!"

After Zhu Houzhao ascended the throne in the golden pavilion, he slightly raised his hand, and Liu Jin, standing to the side, said in a hoarse voice, "No need for formalities, rise!"

After the officials rose, Liu Jin loudly proclaimed, "Those with matters to report should do so now; those without, court may adjourn—"

Jiao Fang then stepped forward with his ivory court tablet in hand, bowed and reported: "Your Majesty, the 'Regulations for Acts of the People's Republic of China,' compiled by the Directorate of Ceremonial under imperial decree in conjunction with the Six Ministries, the Censorate, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Office of Transmission, has been finalized and is hereby respectfully presented to Your Majesty for your perusal!"

The young eunuch then presented the neatly bound sample book to Liu Jin, who then forwarded it to the Emperor.

Zhu Houzhao casually flipped through a few pages, saw that they were all imperial edicts and decrees issued in recent years, and tossed them onto the imperial desk, saying indifferently, "Alright, if none of the officials have any objections, then let's approve their publication."

Everything at the court assembly was ceremonial; a grand performance symbolized the emperor's shared governance of the country with his officials. The entire process was pre-arranged, so there was no need for him to create any unnecessary complications. But today, an unexpected event occurred—

Just when everyone thought the matter was settled, a loud voice boomed across the imperial steps:
"Your Majesty, I object!"

(End of this chapter)