You were asked to write a political intrigue drama, but you wrote "Da Ming 1566".

Chapter 19 Jiajing Emperor's Benevolence? How Could That Be?

The moment Chen Yu opened the live stream and typed those words, netizens who had been arguing fiercely about the previous exorbitant bidding process across the internet instantly changed direction and flooded into Chen Yu's live stream room.

Among the crowd that surged in were loyal viewers who were deeply obsessed with "Ming Dynasty", entertainers who came specifically to cross-dress and cause trouble, and many onlookers who felt heartbroken at the prospect of a multi-million dollar offer. They were just waiting to see the script of "Ming Dynasty" completely collapse, Qin Lan lose all her money in this gamble, and ultimately make the whole thing a laughing stock on the internet.

The complexities and intricacies of human nature can be clearly understood simply by looking at the densely packed scrolling comments in the live stream.

Chen Yu was completely unaware of these matters and had no interest in paying attention to them.

Of course, "Da Ming Dynasty" could not possibly fail. This script, destined to become a legend, is enough to crush all unfounded rumors and malicious speculations.

After a brief pause, Chen Yu took a deep breath and his fingertips landed on the keyboard, rapidly typing away.

But the first line of script analysis he typed out, as soon as it appeared on the screen, left the viewers in the live stream completely bewildered.

Inside the halls of the Yuxi Palace, there is an inscription written by the Jiajing Emperor himself.

I possess three virtues: compassion, frugality, and humility.

This saying is familiar to everyone; it's like how the main hall of an ancient government office would always have the four characters "明镜高悬" (meaning "a bright mirror hangs high") inscribed on it. Similar situations still exist today, but I won't go into detail here.

The question is, sometimes, can that mirror truly remain unwavering and all-seeing? Are the people beneath it truly being treated kindly and served? Everyone has their own scale to measure this.

To put it bluntly, people often try their best to flaunt what they lack. Often, beneath that grand facade, a single couplet or inscription can strip away a person's true nature, revealing their true character to the core.

When viewers first saw Chen Yu quoting Jiajing's words, their immediate reaction was to recall an interpretation made by a film and television expert online.

The expert at the time only said that this sentence showed Jiajing's benevolent and frugal character, but he did not make any in-depth analysis of the phrase "dare not be the first in the world".

So at this moment, the audience subconsciously felt that Chen Yu was just repeating this point of view.

It's just rehashing old news.

But after they read through Chen Yu's entire analysis word by word, everyone was completely dumbfounded.

What you lack most, you want to flaunt.

So what he meant was that the Jiajing Emperor was neither benevolent nor frugal?

In an instant, the audience who had previously regarded Jiajing as a sage emperor of all time were in an uproar.

"???"

"How is this possible?!"

"Emperor Jiajing himself had his palace burned down, yet he said there was no rush to repair it and that he could slowly raise the funds. He spared the lives of Zhou Yunyi's accomplices and didn't even take drastic measures against Prince Yu, who was suspected of treason. Isn't this considered merciful and frugal?"

"Is Chen Yu's analysis reversed?!"

While the live stream was in an uproar, Chen Yu remained completely unaffected, his fingers never stopping as he continued writing.

Upon entering the Jade Palace, the cabinet ministers and eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs were greeted by an empty dragon throne. Even though the throne was unoccupied, no one dared to show the slightest disrespect, and they all performed the full set of courtesies with utmost respect before the empty chair.

This single detail already contains a powerful implication: even when the Jiajing Emperor was not physically on his throne, his imperial majesty was already ingrained in the very bones of everyone present.

[But here's the question: Why did the Jiajing Emperor remain hidden in his study, listening to the court debate from the sidelines, only expressing his stance with the sound of a bronze chime, and refusing to show himself in person?]

This brings us to one of the core skills of the Jiajing Emperor, who, despite reigning for forty years and not attending court for twenty, still managed to firmly grasp the reins of power over the entire court and the empire.

He had long since mastered the art of "governing by doing nothing" in imperial politics, and he wholeheartedly believed in one saying:

A thousand promises are not as good as silence.

Emperor Jiajing knew better than anyone that, as the ruler at the pinnacle of power, the most taboo thing was to personally intervene and make definitive statements. Once a word left your mouth, you ceased to be its master, becoming its slave. Only by remaining silent and unvoiced could you, as the ruler, remain forever invincible.

[For this reason, his code of conduct is exactly the same logic hidden in the case of Feng Bao killing Zhou Yunyi: remain silent, do not make things clear, and never give a clear order personally unless absolutely necessary; all meanings must be guessed and understood by his subordinates.]

If things are done correctly and to his liking, he will naturally acknowledge the credit; but if things are done poorly and there are mistakes, it's entirely the subordinates' fault for acting on their own initiative and misinterpreting the meaning, and has nothing to do with Emperor Jiajing.

In this way, the Jiajing Emperor naturally became the sage ruler who would never make a mistake and would always stand on the moral and power high ground.

It is said that the emperor's power is unpredictable. How could an emperor who hides his thoughts deeper than the ocean not make his officials live in constant fear and trepidation?

[This is precisely why the actor portraying Jiajing not only needs to capture his otherworldly demeanor as he dedicates himself to Taoist cultivation, but also his imperial aura—characterized by his inscrutable emotions and unpredictable mind!]

He was a born power-hungry individual, possessing an almost animalistic talent for the art of imperial strategy—this was the Jiajing Emperor!

The moment Chen Yu typed out this entire analysis, all the viewers in the live stream were completely dumbfounded.

This interpretation is completely different from their previous impression of the Jiajing Emperor.

They had always thought that even though Jiajing was obsessed with Taoism, he never gave up his duties in the court. They even thought that Jiajing's political acumen was inferior to that of Grand Secretary Yan Shifan and Prince Yu.

But after watching Chen Yu's analysis, they realized that Jiajing's political maneuvering had already reached its pinnacle, which was practically the ceiling of political maneuvering in the entire series, as personally certified by Chen Yu!

Only at this moment did the sound of the bronze chimes in the Yuxi Palace finally connect seamlessly with the plot of the previous two acts, in which Feng Bao killed Zhou Yunyi but still could not see Jiajing himself.

In that instant, the image of the Jiajing Emperor as a sage ruler that the audience had maintained for so long collapsed and was completely overturned!

Almost simultaneously, a series of related trending topics surged to the top of the trending lists on major social media platforms at an alarming rate, instantly dominating the top positions.

"Chen Yu analyzes Act Three."

"The Ming Dynasty Takes a Turn for the Better".

"Jiajing Emperor was all bark and no bite!"

In fact, as early as the beginning of the "Creators Competition" program, just like the previous two seasons, netizens had already spontaneously created support forums and fan communities for the characters in each script.

As the most popular drama series on the internet right now, almost every named character in "Da Ming Dynasty" has their own dedicated fan forum.

Unsurprisingly, the least popular and quietest forum among these is Xu Jie's personal support forum.

Even more outrageous is that the original purpose of the Xu Jie forum was not to show support, but purely to create posts to criticize him.

The pinned post on the forum only had one sentence: Don't miss it if you're passing by, come in and spit on Xu Jie, that old cunning bastard, before you leave!

Besides Xu Jie, the Tieba forums with a slightly larger number of fans are those for Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.

After all, even though these two characters were on the opposite side of Yan's faction in the script, they still managed to hold their own with their solid skills. One was eloquent and could debate with a group of scholars, while the other was meticulous and came up with the core strategy of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure.

Even if viewers don't like the camp they're on, they have to admit that these two people are truly talented and capable.

Even so, the number of fans supporting these two characters is still less than that of Zhou Yunyi, who was killed at the beginning.

After all, Zhou Yunyi truly risked his life and can be considered a loyal minister who sacrificed his life for righteousness, so the audience naturally buys into it more.

Of all the characters who have appeared so far, Yan Song undoubtedly has the most supporters, followed closely by his son, the Junior Grand Secretary Yan Shifan.

The third one is the Jiajing Emperor.

Many viewers felt a strong sense of identification with this seemingly kind and benevolent emperor.

At this moment, in the Jiajing Bar and various related support communities, many viewers were still chatting enthusiastically.

"If only my boss had a personality like Emperor Jiajing, working under such a leader would be so comfortable!"

o

"There's no need to live in constant fear of being scolded. Sigh, it's true that comparisons are the thief of joy. Look at Emperor Jiajing, he was on the throne and he was still so kind and benevolent. And look at our supervisor, what is he anyway?"

"Furthermore, Emperor Jiajing truly practiced frugality by example. He didn't need anyone to serve him personally, and even when his palace burned down, he said he would repair it slowly. That's what it means to lead by example. Now look at our leader, who keeps telling us to be selfless and dedicated, but then turns around and spends his days indulging in extravagance and waste."

"Emperor Jiajing was also very humane. He even remembered Yan Shifan's private matter of taking a ninth concubine and inquired about it. How concerned he was about his subordinates' private lives!"

"In short, I firmly stand with the Jiajing Emperor and vow to live and die with him!"

But just as these fans were chatting enthusiastically, Chen Yu's analysis had already been screenshotted and quickly posted to Jiajing Bar and various related support communities.

This group of loyal supporters of the Jiajing Emperor were initially stunned and completely dumbfounded, but the next second they completely erupted into chaos.

"???"

"Wait, what exactly does Chen Yu mean by this?"

"Is this a deliberate attempt to smear our Jiajing Emperor?"

"That's utter nonsense! What's wrong with engraving a sentence? This was clearly Emperor Jiajing's way of self-discipline, a constant reminder that he must not lose these fine virtues!"

"Besides, how can an emperor control his court and safeguard the country without some political maneuvering and skill?"

"Even if he understands political maneuvering and knows how to maintain checks and balances, does that mean he can't be a wise ruler?"

"I advise Chen Yu to think twice and stop slandering our Jiajing Emperor!"

The fans of Emperor Jiajing couldn't sit still any longer. They swarmed into Chen Yu's live stream, flooding the chat and comment sections with messages, pleading for justice for their beloved Emperor Jiajing.

At this moment, Chen Yu, sitting in front of the screen, had a knowing smile on his lips, as if he could already see the astonished and incredulous expressions on the faces of the audience opposite him through the screen.

Immediately afterwards, a series of text appeared on the live stream screen as he tapped his fingers.

Here, we need to further analyze the father-son relationship between the Jiajing Emperor and Prince Yu.

Because of his long-standing immersion in Taoist practices and a life of abstinence from worldly desires, the Jiajing Emperor was not interested in women. Therefore, Prince Yu was the Jiajing Emperor's only heir to the throne at present.

With Emperor Jiajing's political acumen and shrewdness, he had long suspected that Prince Yu was most likely behind Zhou Yunyi. However, he couldn't reveal this explicitly, much less break the unspoken understanding between father and son, simply because Prince Yu was destined to inherit his throne.

[However, Prince Yu felt only a deep-seated awe and fear towards his father, the Emperor. Their relationship was nothing like that of father and son; rather, it resembled that of a ruler and his subject with a clearly defined boundary.]

Even in Jiajing's heart, the ministers of the cabinet were closer than his own son—Prince Yu hadn't seen his father for a full ten years!

At the same time, it's also necessary to discuss just how obsessed the Jiajing Emperor was with Taoist cultivation, celestial phenomena, and auspicious omens.

Because of his obsession with Taoist cultivation and immortality, the Jiajing Emperor deeply believed in auspicious omens from the heavens. During his reign, nearly eighty major auspicious omens, such as auspicious rain, auspicious snow, thousand-year-old lingzhi mushrooms, and divine tortoises falling from the sky, were reported from all over the Ming Dynasty. On average, there were two major auspicious omens reported every year. As for the countless smaller, scattered auspicious omens, they were too numerous to count.

Officials at the time had a fixed, unwavering task every year: to write eulogies and submit congratulatory memorials, using various methods to sing praises to these auspicious omens and to extol the Jiajing Emperor.

[Whenever the Jiajing Emperor saw a report of auspicious omens, he was exceptionally generous, frequently bestowing lavish rewards upon the officials who reported them.]

Conversely, the Jiajing Emperor often turned a blind eye to officials who refused to write eulogies or sing praises of auspicious omens, tacitly allowing powerful figures in the court to suppress and marginalize them.

This clearly demonstrates how much the Jiajing Emperor valued auspicious and inauspicious celestial phenomena. In his eyes, Zhou Yunyi, the Director of the Imperial Observatory who dared to use unusual celestial events to criticize the court and the emperor, was already a criminal deserving of death.

This is precisely why Feng Bao's unauthorized killing of Zhou Yunyi actually hit Jiajing's sweet spot.

Later, during the court discussion in the Golden Palace, in order to appease the upright officials such as Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Zhang Juzheng, and also to give a warning to the Directorate of Ceremonial, Jiajing put on a sorrowful and regretful expression, as if he couldn't bear it.

[But after Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and their group took their leave, leaving only Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan in the hall, when Jiajing mentioned Zhou Yunyi again, his expression instantly darkened. This look revealed his truest emotions!]

As he wrote this, Chen Yu let out a soft breath.

The so-called compassion was almost entirely absent in the Jiajing Emperor.

This was an emperor whose very nature was entrenched in political intrigue; he could avoid even his own son for years. Where did his so-called benevolence come from?

If he ever displays a benevolent demeanor, it's because that "benevolence" has a necessary function in that particular situation!

The moment this text appeared on the screen, the viewers who had just been frantically cheering for Emperor Jiajing in the comments and bullet screens froze in place, unable to utter a single word.

The fact that he hadn't seen his biological son for ten years, and his expressions of regret and compensation for Zhou Yunyi, were nothing more than political posturing, a two-faced act.

If we really break it down like Chen Yu did, the Jiajing Emperor really has absolutely nothing to do with the word "benevolence".

Holy crap, was Emperor Jiajing really all bark and no bite?

Meanwhile, in the Jiajing forum, members panicked upon seeing this analysis.

"Holy crap! Urgent! Extremely urgent!"

"The front lines can't hold out! Where's the moderator of our Jiajing forum? Hurry up and come up with a plan to redeem Emperor Jiajing!"

But at that moment, everyone suddenly noticed that the original moderator position on the forum was now empty.

"???"

"no?"

"Our Jiajing forum moderator has run away?!"