Chapter 99: The farce of the imperial lecture

The trouble of eroticism is brewing.

Comrade Xiao Fan, the male protagonist of the troubled incident, was unaware of it. He was still chaotic.

The early financial crisis of the Jinyiwei was resolved by him, and the stalls in the capital and southern Zhili area were unfolded. Then the Jinyiwei faithfully implemented Zhu Yuanzhang's order, arrested a large number of ministers in the capital who had received bribes from the vassal kings, and killed a large number of them, giving the subjects all over the world a wonderful appearance, which shocked the ministers in the court.

The day after the beheading of the ministers who accepted bribes, Yu Xin, the Minister of Revenue, personally visited the Jinyiwei Pacificate yamen and visited Li Jinglong, the commander of the Jinyiwei and Xiao Fan, the magistrate of the Jinyiwei, and expressed his affection and respect for the Jinyiwei to the two. They came with dozens of servants from the Ministry of Revenue yamen. The servants were escorting more than a dozen silver carts, and the boxes of the silver carts were filled with heavy cash silver.

Yu Xin looked so tired that he was almost exhausted, and sincerely told the two spy chiefs that the Ministry of Revenue's bank treasury was nervous before, and the 80,000 taels of silver that His Majesty assigned to the Jinyiwei could not take out, but I, Yu Xin, did not dare to disobey the order, and I didn't want to see the reconstruction work of the Jinyiwei who everyone was looking forward to was stagnant due to the lack of silver. So Shangshu Yu gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, and almost treated the underwear of the officials of the Ministry of Revenue. Then he collected the 80,000 taels of silver that His Majesty ordered to allocate and sent it to the Jinyiwei respectfully...

Li Jinglong and Xiao Fan expressed their affirmation of Yu Xin's noble character, which is not difficult, but also has difficulties. The two of them have a tacit understanding and told Yu Xin that the Jinyiwei had already planned to sit in Yu Shangshu's mansion in the afternoon, search for it, and invite him to the imperial prison for a cup of tea, and ask him if he embezzled the silver from the treasury. Fortunately, Yu Shangshu sent the silver here so well, which proves that Yu Shangshu is innocent and honest. Our Jinyiwei has always been a civilized law enforcement agency that is reasonable and never wronged people. Since you have proved your innocence, congratulations, Yu Shangshu, go home and have a safe sleep. We will withdraw the secret agent who has arranged to enter your house...

Yu Xin looked pale and waved his face, and staggered away from the Jinyiwei Fushiyaya yamen with a look of gratitude.

Xiao Fan looked at Yu Xin's trembling back sympathetically and sighed and said with emotion: "Wouldn't it be fine if I've been delivered to you earlier? Now I'm not only not thanking our affection, but also being threatened by us. Why bother..."

Li Jinglong spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on Yu Xin's back and said with a harsh voice: "He is just a cheap person!"

In the afternoon, Zhu Yunwen sent someone to invite Xiao Fan to the East Palace to discuss matters.

The East Palace is located on the east side of Chunfang, and has been the residence of the prince in all dynasties.

After entering the Eastern Palace, the eunuch led Xiao Fan to the side hall of the garden on the west side. As soon as he entered the door, Xiao Fan saw Zhu Yunwen looking at him with a smile. Xiao Fan was just waiting to salute him, but saw Huang Zicheng standing behind Zhu Yunwen. When Huang Zicheng saw Xiao Fan, he snorted, and then twisted his head, looking very disdainful.

Xiao Fan was secretly angry. The lesson this old guy had learned seemed to be not profound enough. He had to find an opportunity to punish him again.

"Xiao Fan, come here, I'll show you an article. Haha, it's very well written, I agree..." Zhu Yunwen said as he took a stack of manuscripts from the desk and handed them to Xiao Fan.

Xiao Fan's scalp was numb and his face looked embarrassed: "Your Highness, my literary talent... is not very clever. If you want me to read the article, I can't express my opinion..."

Huang Zicheng snorted angrily: "I don't learn anything! I can't even understand the article. How did you get into the scholar?"

Xiao Fan hurriedly said modestly: "Lucky, luck, haha, the student has gone through hardships in the exam for scholars. His Royal Highness the Grand Prince knows this best, right? His Royal Highness the Grand Prince..."

Zhu Yunwen glared at him, then coughed with guilt and said, "Okay, okay, don't talk about the idle article. Xiao Shi Du, come and read this article. Let's talk about your opinion after reading it."

Xiao Fan took the manuscript and saw that the fly-headed small calligraphy on it was densely packed with more than a dozen pages. Xiao Fan sighed in his heart, "Who is so boring? Is there anything that can't be said to be simple?" It's like Aunt Wang's foot binding cloth, smelly and long."

However, the title of the article is very eye-catching, with four big black words: "Ten Strategies for Reducing the Virtues".

Xiao Fan was shocked and looked at Zhu Yunwen in shock. The matter of reducing the vassal states was very sensitive. Who dared to write it on paper openly? Zhu Yunwen was brainbroken? He actually dared to take it in the discussion of Daming and Daliang of the Eastern Palace? Are people all stupid and bold these days? Are you not afraid that Zhu Yuanzhang will be unhappy when he finds out?

Zhu Yunwen seemed to see what Xiao Fan was thinking and smiled lightly: "It's okay, I have discussed with the emperor's grandfather about reducing the vassal states. Now the emperor's grandfather cannot come up with a way of doing both worlds, so I will discuss with my confidant minister. If the method I came up with was feasible, I can report it to the emperor's grandfather."

Xiao Fan's eyelids twitched. History finally changed slightly. In the history books of his previous life, Zhu Yuanzhang could not listen to the word "reducing the vassal state". Moreover, until he closed his eyes at the death, he stubbornly believed that Zhu Yunwen would firmly sit in the country, and his princes would loyally guard the border fiefdoms for the new emperor, and the Ming Dynasty would last for thousands of years...

Now, Zhu Yuanzhang has begun to hesitate between reducing the vassals and not reducing the vassals, and asked Zhu Yunwen to discuss reducing the vassals with his confidant ministers. This is a very obvious signal.

The history of the Ming Dynasty seems to have deviated a little from the original track. Where will it go in the future? A slight difference will lead to a huge mistake. I hope that Zhu Yunwen, the originally failed Emperor Jianwen, can go smoothly.

"Xiao Shidu, tell me quickly, what do you think of this article?" Zhu Yunwen interrupted Xiao Fan's endless thoughts.

"Okay! Well written!" Xiao Fan hurriedly blurted out.

Zhu Yunwen's eyes lit up, but Huang Zicheng's face was gloomy and he stroked his beard with a reserved attitude.

"Tell me quickly, what a good way?" Zhu Yunwen urged anxiously.

Xiao Fan praised: "...the handwriting is well written!"

"Ah?" Zhu Yunwen and Huang Zicheng changed color together.

"The words... are well written?" Zhu Yunwen widened his eyes and stuttered.

Xiao Fan nodded confidently: "Yes! The handwriting is so well written! If Your Highness doesn't mind, I want to take it home, copy it as a copybook and learn..."

After saying that, Xiao Fan glanced at Huang Zicheng inadvertently. Old guy, I know you wrote it, but I won’t let you be proud!

"Apart from the good writing, what do you think of the article?" Zhu Yunwen said anxiously.

Xiao Fan pondered for a moment, and then said deeply: "What is the argument of the article... In my personal opinion, the person who wrote this article must be..."

Zhu Yunwen immediately raised his ears and stared at Xiao Fan with a nervous expression.

Huang Zicheng pretended to be calm and stroked his beard, eager to hear praise but pretend to be indifferent.

"What is it?" Zhu Yunwen stamped his feet in a hurry.

Xiao Fan was so happy that he said slowly: "... He is a mentally retarded person, who needs social care. Such mentally retarded person has a personality trait, that is, he has a bad temper and likes to get angry..."

"Fuck! Fuck! You are mentally retarded! You are ignorant and ignorant Huang's child, you know what's going on!" Huang Zicheng was completely out of his calm appearance as before, and suddenly became anxious. He jumped his feet and cursed, rolled up his sleeves and looked like he was about to rush up to beat someone up.

朱允炆瞧了瞧大动肝火的黄子澄,又瞧了瞧满脸无辜状的萧凡,神色怪异的扭曲了一会儿,终于忍不住“噗嗤”一声喷笑出来.

When Huang Zicheng saw Zhu Yunwen laughing, his old face became more and more uneasy. He jumped his feet while stuttering his neck and shouted: "How dare you bully me! I'm fighting with you!"

"Ah! Mr. Huang calm down. Your Highness, please help me stop him... What I mean is that a mentally retarded person has a bad temper. Why does Mr. Huang get angry..."

...

...

After a lot of talk, Zhu Yunwen finally stopped Huang Zicheng who was in a state of rampage.

After explaining, Xiao Fan exclaimed in panic, "Ah! It turns out that this article was written by Mr. Huang! Forgive me for guilt! The student really doesn't know. The student took back the comments just now. This article is really every word, and it is natural and thought-provoking. It is unparalleled in the world..."

"Don't be hypocritical! Today you must explain to me clearly, why are you mentally retarded by the ten strategies for reducing the vassals? If you don't explain it clearly, I will not have a break with you!" Huang Zicheng was still so angry that he shivered.

"This... isn't it right? Students criticize teachers, but they will be bullied by their ancestors and will be soaked in pig cages..." Xiao Fan looked embarrassed.

"Fart! The adulterous dogs and women who are soaked in the pig cage are. What does it have to do with criticizing the teacher? I am ignorant of learning!"

"Since Mr. Huang insists on students' evaluation, then the students are not polite..." Xiao Fan's expression returned to seriousness.

"You said! Look at your broken mouth that can tell flowers!"

Xiao Fan turned his head and said seriously to Zhu Yunwen: "Your Highness, if you follow Mr. Huang's ten strategies for reducing the vassals, I can guarantee that the country will be destroyed within four years!"

Huang Zicheng raised his white eyebrows, and he was so angry that he rolled up his sleeves and waited forward to beat him up.

Zhu Yunwen stopped Huang Zicheng and said with a serious expression: "Shi Du Xiao, this matter is important, let me tell you what you think."

"Your Highness, Mr. Huang's ten strategies for reducing the vassals are good, but unfortunately there is a problem with the method. It is true that he should use virtue to restrain his heart and use etiquette to restrain his actions. But he said that the army of the imperial court stationed the fiefs of the vassal kings to monitor the actions of the vassal kings. He also said that it is easy to start with the difficult to first, and then to reduce the small vassals first, and then to reduce the large vassals. This is a big fallacy!"

Xiao Fan didn't wait for Huang Zicheng to get angry and turned his head to ask him, "Mr. Huang, the student asked you, if these actions above are really implemented, aren't you afraid of alarming the enemy and causing the vassal kings to be uneasy and suspicious of the court?"

Huang Zicheng said angrily: "The court is orthodox. No matter how strong the vassal kings are, they are nominally the emperor's ministers. How dare they suspect the court? As for shocking the enemy, please ask Your Majesty to appease the vassal kings with a gentle approach and just pretend. How could they be alarmed?"

Xiao Fan said coldly: "You have even mobilized the imperial army and have to cut the small vassals first. If these actions are done, will the vassal kings still not see the intention of the vassal kings? I thought that if you pretend to comfort the vassal kings, others would believe that you would not cut the vassal kings? Are you fools who are the vassal kings?"

Huang Zicheng was suffocated and then shouted: "So what if you see? Which dynasty and which dynasty can be reduced quietly? Sooner or later, the imperial court's intention will be known by the vassal kings. I don't believe that any vassal king dares to take the blame for the world and take the lead in rebelling!"

Xiao Fan looked at Huang Zicheng helplessly, his eyes as if he was looking at an unreasonable child. He sighed and said, "Then Mr. Huang's article might as well change the name, "Ten Investigations of the Fence Kings". This is more appropriate. Once the name is changed, your article will be very consistent with the title, and you can't find any problem..."

“…”

Huang Zicheng entered a state of rampage again.

Zhu Yunwen chuckled, pushed Xiao Fan lightly, and said, "Shi Du's mouth is too damaged, can't you speak well?"

Xiao Fan looked at Huang Zicheng who was angry and crazy and sneered in his heart. Talking good words? He had to listen to me if I talk well. This kind of corrupt scholar is too self-centered. What he said is right and cannot tolerate opposition. Whoever puts forward different opinions will be considered heresy. What can such a person make sense to him?

The three of them were in a noisy place in the side hall of the East Palace. At this time, a eunuch walked over quickly and bowed to Zhu Yunwen and said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty has an order. Your Majesty Xuan, Lord Huang, and Lord Xiao enter the palace to meet you."

The three of them were shocked when they heard this. They discussed things in the Eastern Palace. How could the emperor know so clearly?

Xiao Fan was the first to calm down. Who was Zhu Yuanzhang? The most famous spy organization in history was founded in his hands. What can you hide from this big and small thing in the world?

At that moment, the three of them did not dare to delay and immediately left the Eastern Palace and rushed to the Wuying Palace.

After entering Chengtian Gate and crossing Jinshui Bridge, the three of them got off the carriage in front of the palace and walked inside.

After entering Wuying Hall, Xiao Fan found that there were several ministers standing in the hall, including Zheng Yi, Minister of Rites, Yu Xin, Minister of Revenue, Yang Jing, Minister of Justice, Bao Zhao, Censor of Right, Huang Guan, and even the Hanlin scholar Xie Jin.

Xiao Fan and the other three saluted Zhu Yuanzhang first. Zhu Yuanzhang nodded, but his eyes were staring at Huang Guan who was talking nonstop.

"...I have heard that the Emperor of the Sage Ming governs the world with filial piety. Mencius? Gaozi Chapter says: "I like goodness and superiority to the world, let alone the Lu Kingdom? If I like goodness, then all the people in the world will come to tell him goodness a thousand miles away..."

Xiao Fan heard the clouds and mountains and turned his head and asked Zhu Yunwen quietly, "What is this guy talking about? He is both husband and dog..."

Zhu Yunwen stuck out his tongue and said, "I actually forgot that today is the day of the imperial lecture. Hanlin scholars, scholars and others in the court are all coming to the lecture."

Xiao Fan nodded suddenly. The lecture began in the Han and Tang dynasties. To put it bluntly, it was learned ministers who preached the scriptures and history to the emperor, using history as a mirror and people as a mirror. He asked the emperor to appreciate the past and present, and review and summarize the gains and losses of being an emperor.

Xiao Fan asked again: "Why do they always say at the beginning of their speech, 'I have heard that the emperor ruled the world with filial piety'? Is this the catchphrase that must be said before speaking?"

Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "Any minister who advises the emperor in person should usually say this at the beginning to show that the emperor governs the country with benevolence and filial piety. This is the orthodox world of Confucianism."

Xiao Fan suddenly realized and understood. This was the same as the monk said "Amitabha" before he spoke. It was a pure slogan and had no meaning...

Xiao Fan didn't know how others viewed the lecture. He just thought it was a boring behavior. He held a conference and talked nonsense and wasted saliva. In addition to satisfying the desire to speak, there was basically no other use. How did the lectures in previous dynasties do too much? Those who should have lost their country will still be destroyed, and both of them will not be delayed.

However, Xiao Fan is now a low-ranking official. Zhu Yuanzhang asked him to attend the imperial lecture to create a chance to climb up, so he should bear it no matter what.

So Xiao Fan had to patiently listen to Huang Guan alone talking about how Mencius was and how Confucius was...

He turned his head to look at Zhu Yuanzhang and the other ministers, but saw that they looked intoxicated and agreed with each other. He kept shaking his head with Huang Guan’s passionate and stuttering tone. Even Zhu Yunwen and Huang Zicheng who had just come in quickly, looked very rude.

After working hard and patiently, Huang Guan's summary speech finally finished, Xiao Fan breathed a sigh of relief and showed a relieved expression. This smelly and long foot binding cloth was finally wrapped...

As a result, before Xiao Fan was happy, Chen Di, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, stood up again, shook his head and shouted loudly, "I have heard that the Emperor of Sages and Emperor Ming governed the world with filial pills. Just now, Lord Huang talked about "Mencius? Gaozi Chapter". I think Lord Huang's argument is really mature and steady, and he has expressed the essence of the sub-sage scriptures. I agree deeply. Next, I will talk to Your Majesty about "Book of Rites? Music Words Chapter", "The people have the nature of blood and energy, but there is no constant state of sorrow, joy, joy and anger..."

A very abrupt sound suddenly came from the quiet Wuying Hall.
To be continued...