Chapter 284: In the past ten years, it is time for the Donglin scholars to dance!
Changzhou Prefecture, Donglin Academy.
In a quiet courtyard in a bamboo forest.
Just like in the capital, it was raining heavily in Changzhou at this time.
"Buzz!"
As a wave of space ripples arose, layers of mysterious runes appeared on the ground. Immediately afterwards, the figure of Zhu Youjian, dressed in a simple green robe, appeared.
"Master!" At this time, Wang Chengen, who had been waiting at the door early, received the news that Zhu Youjian was returning to Donglin Academy. Seeing this, he immediately came forward with an umbrella.
"Where are the masters?" Zhu Youjian asked as he walked into the house.
"I heard that the master was coming back, so I waited at the pavilion in the middle of the lake early." Wang Chengen looked at Zhu Youjian, who looked calm and showed no signs of surprise, and said:
"I didn't say anything, but those gentlemen seem to have guessed it..."
When Zhu Youjian was leaving the capital to return to Donglin Academy, he had already given him the news, asking him to be prepared, as he would be returning to the capital to take charge of the overall situation.
"Although the teachers never leave their houses and just focus on teaching and discussing politics in this academy, Donglin Academy has sent countless students to the Ming Dynasty over the years."
"Therefore, it can be said that the masters know what is happening in the world without leaving their homes. It is not surprising that they know that the situation in the court will change drastically next." Zhu Youjian stopped and said:
"Forget it, let's go to the pavilion in the center of the lake..."
Seeing this, Wang Chengen said nothing, but just followed silently and held an umbrella for Zhu Youjian.
Compared with the past, the Donglin Academy today can no longer be simply described as "academy".
Today's Donglin Academy is more like a small town than an academy.
After a while, Zhu Youjian and Wang Chengen arrived at the pavilion in the middle of the lake of Donglin Academy.
From afar, the entire lake appeared azure blue. Dense raindrops fell into the lake surface, which was already turbulent due to the wind, splashing a layer of dense water vapor.
In the very center of the entire lake is an extremely large complex of pavilions and towers.
Standing in the center of the building complex is a nine-story attic. On the plaque of the attic are inscribed four large characters "Guanlan Yazhu" with a strong scholarly flavor.
Today, under the influence of the Ming Dynasty's national policy of "initiating innovation", the requirements for supervising the construction of buildings for both civilians and official officials are not as strict as before.
Take Beijing for example, many buildings have already exceeded 100 floors.
Some study rooms, restaurants, etc., dare to be named "Jiangshan" or "Tianxia". It can be seen that the current Ming Dynasty has already entered a new era.
Even because of the laying of the spiritual network, people all over the world can communicate freely on the spiritual network.
Of course, after all, the people of the world are one family and are all subjects of the Ming Dynasty. The result of the collision and exchange of Eastern and Western ideas is to make people's minds more open.
For example, for Donglin Academy, building a nine-story "Guanlan Yazhu" was not considered a violation at all.
Wang Chengen sent Zhu Youjian to "Guanlan Cottage" and he stayed there.
As Zhu Youjian's close companion, he knew when to give his master space and when to stay by his side to help him solve problems.
Climbing up to the ninth floor via the "cloud ladder", Zhu Youjian saw more than a dozen figures leaning on the railing and looking into the distance.
Xu Guo, Wang Xijue, Gao Panlong, An Xifan, Liu Yuanzhen, Qian Yiben, Xue Fujiao, Ye Maocai, Li Banghua and many other core members of Donglin gathered together.
Of course, the real core party of Donglin Academy consisted of as many as one or two hundred people.
Most of these people have already served in the prefectures, counties and cities of the Ming Dynasty, and many have even entered the overseas provincial administration offices.
The biggest leaders in Donglin Academy were naturally Gu Xiancheng and Shen Shixing.
Gu Xiancheng is now the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, but the Ministry of Personnel is in the hands of the Yan family, and Gu Xiancheng is the head of the Donglin Party, which is essentially a faction of Prince Yu.
Naturally, they were suppressed everywhere!
Basically, his position as Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel was a sinecure.
However, for someone like Shen Shixing, because he had been recommended by Prince Yu, he became the prefect of Yingzhou Prefecture to gain experience in government after Xu Jie returned to the cabinet that year, and later became the prefect of Yangzhou Prefecture.
Although he is not a high-ranking official like the provincial governor, he is still a real powerful figure.
In recent years, Prince Yu's Mansion has been intending to transfer him to the French Provincial Administration Office to serve as an inspector.
In short, the Donglin Party today may not be able to intervene in the cabinet and the six ministries, the pinnacle of power in the Ming Dynasty, and may have almost no influence, but it can start from the position of vice minister.
With its influence reaching the level of prefectures, states, districts and counties in the Ming Dynasty, it can be said that it still has the potential to surpass factions such as the Yan Party, Prince Jing, Gao Gong and Zhang Juzheng.
This shows how powerful the Donglin Party is today!
It is precisely because of the political forces from all aspects that the power of Prince Yu’s Mansion can now be said to be equal to that of the Yan Party in the Ming Dynasty.
How could this not make the other kings regard Prince An and Prince Yu's Mansion as thorns in their eyes?
At this time, many great scholars in Donglin Academy were gathered around a man in a brown gown, reciting poems and composing essays.
"Master Gu?" Zhu Youjian was stunned and surprised when he saw the middle-aged figure in brown gown. He obviously did not expect to see Gu Xiancheng in Donglin Academy.
That's right, this person is not someone else, but one of the founders of Donglin Academy, Gu Xiancheng. Not only that, he is also a cultivator in the early stage of foundation building.
"Young Master!" At this time, others also saw Zhu Youjian, so they turned around and saluted.
"I have met the young master."
Seeing the great scholars of Donglin Academy saluting to him, Zhu Youjian's face, which had been serious because of his elder brother Zhu Youxiao's threat to return to Prince Yu's Mansion, relaxed. He raised his hand and said:
"Gentlemen, please stand up quickly."
Perhaps it was because he had been meditating in Donglin Academy for many years, discussing scriptures and philosophy with these great scholars of the time, and discussing the politics of the court and the world, that he regarded these people as his close friends.
Seeing these great scholars paying respect to him, he naturally would not put on airs as a royal family member. He even felt a little unhappy that these great scholars were so respectful to him.
However, he naturally understood some truths. As a member of the royal family, his status meant that others had to greet him when they saw him. This was innate and could not be changed.
"Young Master," Gu Xiancheng said with a smile, holding a folding fan in his hand, "Everyone present here already knows that His Highness will soon return to the palace in the capital to take charge of the overall situation."
"So we decided to practice for the young master here," Gu Xiancheng paused for a moment, looked around at everyone present, and then smiled at Zhu Youjian:
"Besides, in our opinion, the young master has already mastered what he has learned over the years, and it is time for him to become a master."
Departure? Hearing these two words, even Zhu Youjian was stunned.
"Hahaha." Seeing Zhu Youjian's dazed look, everyone else burst into laughter.
For a moment, there was wind and rain outside the building but people were laughing inside. The Donglin scholars showed their scholarly spirit and unrestrainedness at this moment.
Surrounded by the crowd, Zhu Youjian felt the atmosphere around him, feeling both happy and reluctant.
However, thinking of what his elder brother said, if he didn't go back, his father would take action against Donglin Academy. He knew too well what kind of person his father Zhu Changluo was. It can be said that his father Zhu Changluo perfectly inherited the character and methods of his grandfather Zhu Yijun.
(Note: Due to the changes in the fate of all the characters, Zhu Changluo is no longer a casual product of Zhu Yijun in this book, but a son who is highly cared for by Zhu Yijun.)
He had no doubt that if he really continued to study in Donglin Academy instead of returning to Prince Yu's Mansion, then within a day, these great scholars in Donglin Academy would die tragically.
So he has to go back!
About half an hour later, everyone from Donglin began to take their seats according to their priority.
Among all the people present, the one with the highest status was undoubtedly Zhu Youjian, followed by Gu Xiancheng, one of the founders of Donglin Academy, Gu Yuncheng, Gao Panlong and others.
"When will Master Gu come back?" Zhu Youjian asked Gu Xiancheng why he was in Donglin Academy.
Logically speaking, the Cabinet and the six ministers have all entered the Qiankun Realm for secluded training, and the ones who currently hold power in the Ming Dynasty are the Nine Princes and the six vice ministers.
Although Gu Xiancheng has been sidelined in the Ministry of Personnel, the person in power in the Ministry of Personnel now is only the Left Vice Minister.
As the right vice minister, Gu Xiancheng had to be used at this time of urgent need for manpower, no matter how unwilling the Yan party members were.
Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, they can't afford it.
Therefore, in Zhu Youjian's view, Gu Xiancheng should take advantage of this opportunity to regain power in the Ministry of Personnel.
It can be said that all officials of the Ming Dynasty today are practicing Taoism. Therefore, ten years may seem like a long time to ordinary people, but to them, it is just a blink of an eye.
I wonder how many officials in the Ming Dynasty are now eager to plan for the top position day and night.
At this time, Gu Xiancheng became lax?
"I came back this time for two things," Gu Xiancheng nodded slightly, stroking his beard and said:
"First, I wanted to persuade the young master to return to the capital and take charge of the overall situation." He paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "But I didn't expect that the Prince of Rongchang had already made arrangements."
(Note: In the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Youjian's great grandfather was a prince, his grandfather was a crown prince, and his father's title was a prince. Therefore, to serve the plot, Zhu Changluo was named the Prince of Rongchang.)
After hearing the words "Prince Rongchang", Zhu Youjian's mind couldn't help but emerge with the seemingly always majestic face of his father Zhu Changluo.
Almost instinctively, Zhu Youjian frowned deeply.
Gu Xiancheng naturally saw the displeasure hidden in Zhu Youjian's expression. After a moment of silence, he continued, "Young Master, I actually agree with the Prince's arrangement."
"With your intelligence, I'm sure you'll understand the reason without me having to explain it."
"You have different meanings in the hearts of the prince, the crown prince, and the county prince."
"To be frank, perhaps one day in the future, the entire palace will be handed over to you."
"Young Master has been in seclusion for more than ten years. Now you are going to be a master. These ten years in the human world are your best opportunity to practice!"
"Confucius said, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles," Gu Xiancheng said earnestly, "The other eight princes are coming with great force, and Prince Yu's Palace and Prince An's Palace have formed an alliance."
"I have already become a thorn in the eyes and flesh of the other eight kings."
"Now the prince and the crown prince are in seclusion for training, and the palace is managed by the county prince. But except for your eldest brother, your other brothers have limited qualifications and it is difficult for them to help the county prince."
"You should go back now!"
When others heard this, they all responded.
"Young Master, we think that what Mr. Gu said makes sense. You should really go back!"
"Yes, young master, please allow me to say something disrespectful. Now everyone in and outside the government can see clearly that the next ten years is the best time for the Nine Dragons to compete for the throne."
"If the power of the palace is damaged at this time, it will affect all of us..."
"..."
"Young Master, don't worry. We will support you in the next ten years on earth!"
"Behind you are all the Donglin scholars!"
For a moment, on the ninth floor of Guanlan Yazhu, a group of great scholars from Donglin echoed the voice and there was a lot of noise.
Seeing this, Zhu Youjian was silent for a moment and then nodded.
He had already promised his eldest brother to return to the palace.
Now that he sees so many great scholars in the entire Donglin Academy supporting him, he feels warm in his heart.
"The second thing," Gu Xiancheng continued after everyone was quiet and Zhu Youjian figured it out, "is naturally for the next arrangements for my Donglin scholars."
"In the next ten years, the nine dragons will fight for the throne, and the situation will inevitably be turbulent. Now is the time for us Donglin scholars to take action!"
Hearing what Gu Xiancheng said, other people in the academy started discussing again.
"The Ming Dynasty today may seem prosperous, but in fact it has reached the point where it needs reforms." Gu Xiancheng's brother, Gu Yuncheng, said loudly.
"Before this, our Ming Dynasty had rectified the administration of officials, but some poisonous tumors still exist in the court, and they are still poisoning the Ming Dynasty! They use their official positions to seek personal gain, such as Yan Song and his son!"
"Back then, Xu Jie and other upright people failed to eradicate him. Now we should continue to eliminate this evil for the court!"
"Alas," someone sighed at this time, "But behind Yan Song is the emperor!"
"Yan Song and his son have always liked to deceive the emperor. It is so difficult to eliminate Yan Song and his son."
"In fact, it is not difficult to eliminate Yan Song and his son..." At this time, a middle-aged man in white linen clothes stood up in the crowd. After everyone's eyes were focused on him, he smiled slightly and said:
"The reason why the emperor likes Yan Song and his son is because they can do things for the emperor!"
The man who stood up was named Ruan Dacheng, also one of the great scholars of Donglin.
"Although the process is often outrageous, and some of the things done are even hated by heaven and man, such as the massacre of the Japanese back then, which was too inhumane..."
"But the final result is very effective and can benefit Ming Dynasty."
"The reason why the Qingliu back then failed to eradicate Yan Song and his son and cut off the Yan Party was because even though they understood the essence of Yan Song and his son's survival, they still did not take action," Ruan Dacheng said, sneering: "Even Xu Jie and his ilk fell apart due to internal strife!"
"It can be seen how ignorant the so-called elders in the cabinet are now! But what the Qingliu feared back then, we Donglin scholars will not be afraid of!"
"We only need to use ten years to completely wipe out the Yan Party. They will have no one to use... By then, will they still be able to accomplish things for the Emperor?"
As he spoke, Ruan Dacheng said with confidence:
"Once the emperor realizes that the Yan Party is useless, the Yan Party will be useless too!"
"Humph! Yan Song and his son? I can kill you with a snap of my fingers!"
"..."
(End of this chapter)
