Chapter 476: The Path of Psychology, Jiang Qingzhi's Way
It is a small alley in the south of the city. The alley is quiet and the walls on both sides are covered with weeds or moss, and it looks quite old.
Tang Shunzhi and Shen Lian were drinking in a tavern in the alley.
It is said that the tavern has been passed down from the Yuan Dynasty to the present day. Most of the furnishings in the house have a history of more than a hundred years, and the patina on the tables can even reflect light.
The shopkeeper put a plate of dried beans on the table with an indifferent look on his face, and wiped the patina on the table with his sleeve. But in the eyes of others, he cared more about the patina.
"Xu Jie wants to recommend you for an official position." After the shopkeeper left, Shen Lian raised his glass and took a sip of wine. "Now there is a vacancy in the Censorate, and the position is not low. Xu Jie said that if you don't want to stay in Beijing, you can go to the countryside..."
Tang Shunzhi picked up a piece of tofu and ate it, saying, "Xu Jie is in a difficult situation in the Political Affairs Hall now. He recommended me with good intentions, but he actually wanted to bring my philosophy to his side and use it for his own benefit."
Shen Lian was startled, "Xu Jie is different from the Yan Party..."
"Before power, there is no difference." Tang Shunzhi seldom eats meat, not because he can't afford it, but because of self-restraint. He picked some tofu from the fried meat and put it in the bowl. Shen Lian looked and saw that the tofu were arranged in an orderly manner, like a military formation.
"Everyone knows that Xu Jie and the Yan Party will clash sooner or later. The Yan Party is the public enemy of the court today, and we should fight against it together." Shen Lian frowned, "If I can stand shoulder to shoulder with Xu Jie, it will be of great benefit to the development of my psychology."
Tang Shunzhi took a sip of wine and said, "I know you are dissatisfied with Yan Song and his son. You think that Yan's party controls the court and harms the country and the people. Is that right?"
Shen Lian nodded, with a fierce look in his eyes, "If there is a chance, I will pull down Yan Song and his son even if I have to die."
Historically, his ambitions were not fulfilled and he was killed by Yan Song and his son.
"Have you ever thought about who would come to power if Yan Song and his son fell? Xu Jie!" Tang Shunzhi changed the positions of a few pieces of tofu, forming another formation. "What would happen if Xu Jie came to power? Would he listen to the voices of the literati, or would he block the tide of criticism for Your Majesty?"
Shen Lian was stunned. In history, this guy took it as his mission to overthrow Yan Song and his son, and he never gave up.
"But the father and son formed a clique for personal gain, were corrupt and embezzled... They are a great scourge today!"
"Will Xu Jie be honest once he takes office?" Tang Shunzhi shook his head. "People's minds are hard to predict. Xu Jie is tolerant, and he thinks more about himself. Once he takes office, he will try to please both sides, the emperor and the literati."
Shen Lian was silent. He was not convinced, but he did not want to continue arguing. "You have changed a lot since you became close to Jiang Qingzhi."
"Chunfu." Tang Shunzhi put down his chopsticks and took a look at the new formation he had set up. "Xinxue has developed well in recent years, you have made great contributions.
When the master was alive, he once said that knowledge and action should be united. He did not talk about his deep insights. What is the purpose of my Xinxue? The master defeated the Ning Wang rebels, and later suppressed the rebels several times, and died on the way back home in triumph.
In this life, the teacher knew and practiced what he did, and he can be a role model for me. But after the teacher passed away, what did the School of Mind do? "
"We will spare no effort to promote the study of the mind..."
"Once you entered the government, what did you do?"
"..."
"You have spared no effort for the country and the people!" Tang Shunzhi's eyes were filled with blame. "But in recent years, people in the School of Mind have been obsessed with empty talk and debate. They only know how to talk but not how to act. Is this what you meant, sir?"
Shen Lian said: "The Yan Party is the only party in power in the court today, and I can't wait to realize my ambitions."
"How do you know that your ambitions can benefit the country and the people?" Tang Shunzhi asked gently.
"We are all devoted to our country..."
Tang Shunzhi pressed his hands and sighed, "The Confucians also said this, that one should devote oneself to the country, but here..." He pointed to his heart, "They talk a lot about benevolence and morality, but everything they do is to make a profit for themselves."
Shen Lian smiled bitterly, "It seems that Long Wilbur has had a great influence on you."
"That's wonderful!" Tang Shunzhi smiled and said, "I invited you here today because I want to let you know about this. From now on, my school of mind will do its best to help the Mohist school."
Shen Lian almost knocked over his glass. "What did you say? Helping the Mohist School?"
Tang Shunzhi took advantage of him slowly, "Can you see the general trend at the moment? The so-called Yan Party is a wall that Your Majesty has set up between you and the literati. Your Majesty's original intention was to separate the two sides and tolerate for the sake of the overall situation. But in the past two years, Your Majesty has gradually walked out of Xiyuan. What followed was bound to be a conflict with the literati."
He looked at Shen Lian, "The outcome of this conflict will determine the future of the Ming Dynasty. As for me, I stand with the Mohist school and Jiang Qingzhi. This is not out of selfishness, but because I see the future of the Mohist school."
He picked up a piece of tofu and ate it. "Did Chang Wei Bo fight for power? Did he form a clique for personal gain? No. He wanted to use the Mohist mechanical technique to create a supreme weapon for the Ming army. But what did those people do for it?"
"They are desperately trying to stop them. Is this public spirit?" Tang Shunzhi said coldly: "For the so-called Confucianism, for the so-called Taoism, they would rather the Ming Dynasty be destroyed forever! This so-called Taoism is the most filthy thing in the world. But they regard it as the most precious treasure. Shameful and despicable!"
Shen Lian was silent.
"I know that many people in the School of Mind are involved in this dispute, such as Xu Jie." Tang Shunzhi said slowly: "Tell them that the master said before he passed away, 'This heart is bright, what else can I say?'
I hope they can be calm and at peace before they die, instead of looking at their family's wealth and lamenting that they died without using it all."
Tang Shunzhi stood up, and Shen Lian looked up. "The School of Mind does not look favorably upon Mohism, and feels that the Mohist doctrine is incompatible with the doctrine of my School of Mind."
"What is Tao?" Tang Shunzhi said, "Tao is everything in daily life. Tao is what we can do for the people of this world. Mr. Tao has said a lot, and I have also understood a little bit, so I will give it to you today."
Tang Shunzhi paused and said, "Human nature is selfish. The so-called Tao is to give selfish people a goal. And this goal must make people sincerely convinced and willing to contribute."
He looked at Shen Lian and spoke each word, "This Tao is not about knowledge, nor is it about sudden enlightenment, but... serving the country and the people!"
Tang Shunzhi left, and Shen Lian sat in the tavern for a long time, drinking pot after pot of wine, and finally got drunk. He staggered out of the tavern, laughing as he walked. "For the country and the people, isn't getting rid of the Yan Party for the country and the people?"
"Knowledge and action are one. How can we have the opportunity to act when we are suppressed like this?"
"Xinxue, Xinxue should flourish!"
……
"Mr. Jing Chuan, aren't you afraid of being rejected by the School of Mind?"
Tang Shunzhi was at the Bo's house at this moment, and he frankly told Jiang Qingzhi his decision.
"If you feel like it, take action." Tang Shunzhi said with a smile: "If you think too much or weigh the pros and cons, you will sooner or later become a slave to interests."
This person is really free and easy, and clear-headed... Jiang Qingzhi admires him very much, "Excuse me for what Xinxue has done over the years. The voice is not small, but most of it is just voice."
"You only talk but don't do anything, yet you are so arrogant as to say that you want to achieve unity of knowledge and action." Tang Shunzhi sighed, "I have been living in seclusion at home these years. Besides studying and practicing martial arts, I have also thought about the current situation of Xinxue. It seems that you have taken a different path in Confucianism, but gradually you have taken the old path of Confucianism again."
"Shen Lian is talented, but he is stuck in a dead end." Jiang Qingzhi laughed. Xu Wei once told him about Shen Lian. In Jiang Qingzhi's opinion, Shen Lian was a talented man who was not valued and was a bit cynical.
"He has embarrassed Yan Shifan many times. He seems to be righteous, but people who really do things will never act so impulsively." Tang Shunzhi agreed with Jiang Qingzhi's view on Shen Lian, "Do what you should do and act silently for the way in your heart. Instead of being unruly."
Humiliating Yan Shifan would not bring any benefit to the Ming Dynasty, but would instead bring disaster to himself. To be honest, in Jiang Qingzhi's eyes, Shen Lian was not even one-tenth as good as Xu Wei.
"Xu Jie is secretly dissatisfied with you." Tang Shunzhi said, "This man is good at forbearance, and his intentions are very big."
"It would be fine if he was working for the country and the people, but he is not the one who truly works for the country and the people!" Tang Shunzhi was quite surprised by Jiang Qingzhi's firm attitude.
"So what do you think of this person?"
To be honest, Jiang Qingzhi is not qualified to comment on a senior cabinet member at his age.
But Tang Shunzhi knew that Jiang Qingzhi had a great vision, and Xu Jie had a great influence within the School of Mind. Since he entered the cabinet, he even seemed to be becoming the banner of the School of Mind.
So he wanted to hear Jiang Qingzhi's opinion on Xu Jie.
Jiang Qingzhi said: "Xu Jie was an upright person in the first half of his life."
No one can deny this.
"But people forget that as long as one is a human being, he will change." Jiang Qingzhi sighed: "Yan Song was once a passionate man, but now he has become a treacherous minister that everyone wants to kill."
"You mean to say that Xu Jie will become a treacherous minister from now on?"
"Not just a treacherous minister." After Xu Jie came to power in history, scholars all over the world cheered for him crazily, shouting 666, almost like the moment Sima Guang returned to Beijing from Luoyang, the center of everyone's attention!
But what did Xu Jie do?
He brought down Yan Song and his son, and also brought down the wall of isolation between the Taoist officials and the literati.
Xu Jie began to try to build that wall. He tried to please both sides and sit on the fence, but his true colors were eventually exposed by Hai Rui.
During Xu Jie's tenure as prime minister, the Xu family spared no effort in annexing local land and accepted numerous benefits.
This senior cabinet member, who enjoyed a good reputation among the literati, was secretly even more greedy than Yan Song and his son.
Jiang Qingzhi said, "Mr. Jingchuan, if a person endures for a long time, he will do something..." Jiang Qingzhi pointed to his head, "He will become ill. Once he gains power, I don't know what he will do, but I think... it will shock the world."
Tang Shunzhi left the topic aside. "Let's wait and see! Now I am waiting to see when your treasure that can benefit the country and the people will be completed? Can I have a sneak peek?"
When this matter was mentioned, this master of psychology actually lost his usual mind. Jiang Qingzhi smiled and said, "Once that thing comes out, Mr. Jingchuan, the current army will be reborn!"
Tang Shunzhi was horrified, "If this is true, then it deserves to be said to benefit the country and the people."
"Master." Fu Cheng came in. "The Jinyiwei found something and said they need to summon Shitou."
Jiang Qingzhi said coldly: "What does Lu Bing mean?"
Fu Cheng said: "I asked a few questions, and the Jinyiwei said that it was a matter of public affairs."
Tang Shunzhi said: "It's not that there is no solution to this problem."
"Oh! Mr. Jingchuan, please speak." Jiang Qingzhi said.
Tang Shunzhi was once an official and was extremely smart. He smiled and said, "For example, it was an accident or he was forced... But the witnesses are the most important. If he is forced to change his words, I'm afraid your servant will not be able to escape."
Fu Cheng said: "After the incident, the uncle immediately left those ruffians behind."
"Qingzhi..." Tang Shunzhi looked at Jiang Qingzhi, "You and I really have a mutual understanding!"
It is rare to have a true friend. Tang Shunzhi couldn't help laughing and felt extremely happy.
(End of this chapter)
