such as Yue Linyuan

Chapter 135 Balance of Forces

The court opened in early February, and after the court was over, Wu Yonglian and Liang Chen went to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to have an audience.

"This month is the examination questions of the imperial examination, and next month is the palace examination, cold offering wine, you told me three years ago that you would be a good minister, now, are you confident that you will not let me down?" Chu Yuezhi was standing In front of the huge bookshelf wall in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, he was flipping through a book he had taken out from the bookshelf in his hand.

"Whether I have confidence, let the general examination and the palace examination tell your Majesty. It is still too early, and even if the minister is conclusive, it is nothing but words." Liang Chen bowed his head and replied, but the certainty in the voice was enough to prove that even The scientific examination has not yet been held, and he has already made up his mind.

"I heard that your friend Zhong Qingheng also took part in the scientific examination?" Chu Yuezhi had been arguing with Ming and Qingqiu for a long time this morning, and now he really didn't have the heart to talk to Liang Chen, so he just sneered: "He dared."

"Your Majesty, Qing Heng has undergone a lot of experience in the past few years, and he is no longer as superficial as he was back then. If he can pass the general examination and come before His Majesty, he will no longer be as arrogant as he was back then." Liang Chen said.When he said those words to Zhong Qingheng that day, he didn't expect to wake up the person in his dream with a single word. After all, many concepts are deeply ingrained and cannot be changed in a day or two. He never thought that Zhong Qingheng is also a person with a special axis and a unique opinion. Maybe it was because he did not hesitate to sever ties with his family in order to marry a man back then, and he had already been baptized by the impact of his ideas. After that day, Zhong Qingheng actually left the capital to go home and then packed his things and went on a trip. No matter what he said, he didn't stop him; Zhong Qingheng had been there for two years, and when he came back, his whole body was as if he had been reborn. As the Imperial Academy sacrifice wine, when he saw Zhong Qingheng appearing in the Imperial Academy, he was really surprised.

"Really." Chu Yuezhi was somewhat noncommittal to Liang Chen's remarks. He didn't believe that a person could change easily, "Liang Jijiu also knows that I have always been cautious about some things. If he arrives Palace test, don't blame me for making things difficult for him."

Liang Chen naturally understood what Chu Yuezhi meant, he still lowered his head to hide the smile on his mouth, and said: "Your Majesty has always been magnanimous, and he is definitely not an unreasonable person, unlike a minister, if anyone dared to say that the minister's family was wrong , although I don't know martial arts, I still want to turn my face against others."

The marriage between him and her husband back then caused a lot of gossip around him. At that time, he was still young, and he was eager to argue with others. Although he was good at speaking, his sharp words always made people speechless, but It will inevitably offend many people, and in the end I still need my husband to help with the aftermath.

Think about it carefully, if his husband made people say that, he would turn his face on the spot. How could he sit down and talk with his temper suppressed like Chu Yuezhi, and he didn't pursue it separately afterwards. Most of the emperors who killed people with power had never killed innocent people indiscriminately, let alone imprisoned and tortured people because of the people's comments.

In the past few years, it is precisely because Chu Yuezhi advocated the policy of freedom of speech that many literati and writers who have retired for a long time have come out one after another. Folk opera novels and storytellers in restaurants and teahouses have once again become popular. , especially Chu Yuezhi abolished all kinds of restrictions on opera novels. In the past year, several highly circulated novels have emerged among the people.

Naturally, it is not without the old school's old scholars who are opposed to this, and sternly criticize this as an insult to etiquette, and it is also a degeneration of literary thought. However, due to the overall positive trend, the voice of support has always been higher. The literary world, which was once a stagnant pool, was able to flourish again.

After all, what is the Fall?If a hundred flowers blooming and a hundred schools of thought contending is depravity, then there is nothing wrong with that.

Chu Yuezhi closed the classics in his hand, raised his eyes to look at Liang Chen with a half-smile, and thought that this person was getting better at talking.

Putting the classics back on the bookshelf, Chu Yuezhi returned to the imperial case, flipped through the essays he was reading before the two ministers entered the palace, and said to Wu Yonglian: "Wu Shangshu, I heard that you used a pseudonym a few days ago. I wrote a few essays, and the response was pretty good.”

Wu Yonglian was stunned, and his face suddenly showed a bit of embarrassment. He has always been a man of good manners. Due to his status as an important minister of the court, there are some things that he can't say on weekdays. Seeing that many people are expressing their opinions through writing, he can't hold back. Participate in a pseudonym.

In fact, Chu Yuezhi will know that it is a matter of course. This kind of liberalization of the literary world and public opinion is the result that Chu Yuezhi most wanted to see at the beginning, but there is no rule. Neighboring countries' spies mixed in and disseminated some suspected rebellious content, so there must be some people collecting and sorting out these prose and opera novels circulated among the people on weekdays. Once there are problems, they must be reported.

As for the few essays he wrote, most of them also found clues from the style of writing, words and sentences, so they were specially presented to Chu Yuezhi.

"Your Majesty, I just started to write a few articles at the moment, but I have no ambiguity towards Your Majesty and the Daheng Kingdom." Wu Yonglian knew that Chu Yuezhi had brought this matter up to him now, so he didn't plan to pursue him. It's just to remind him to pay attention to his status as a minister, so as not to be dug out by interested people in the future to make a big fuss.

"I've just read these few essays of yours, and your viewpoints are rather novel. Different schools of thought have quoted one end, admiring what they are good at, and saying that everyone is different. I think it's so good." Chu Yue insisted on Wu Yonglian's knowledge. He has always been respectful, and in the past three years, Wu Yonglian, as the minister of the Ministry of Rites, has often been summoned by him to discuss etiquette. He has always taken to heart the failure of the first legislation for women three years ago, and has been studying the past etiquette. He wants to learn from it. Seek a breakthrough.

"Your Majesty's words are also very familiar with the article "Studies of Art and Literature", and I dare to say that the so-called "ten schools of thought, only nine of them are impressive; although the words are different, they are like fire and water, and the destruction of each other is also the birth of each other; if you can Cultivate the art of the six arts, and look at the words of the nine schools of thought, and take advantage of the advantages, and you can understand the strategy of all directions'." Wu Yonglian said, after these few years, he can be considered to understand what Chu Yuezhi wants to see. What kind of big country is it, and I also understand what Chu Yuezhi has been laying the groundwork for, "The policies that His Majesty has implemented in the past few years have greatly improved the phenomenon of being banned in previous years. I think that His Majesty can As a result, the policy adjustments will be decided later. It’s just that His Majesty has just started the taxation reform, and Lord Xia is pushing forward the new policy with great pressure. In a short period of time, I’m afraid there should be no big changes.”

Xia Zhiyi, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, naturally stood on the same front with them in this tax reform, and because of this, he was involved in many memorials by people from the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and was even assassinated before the implementation of the new policy; Very annoyed, he sent people to protect Xia Zhiyi in private, and even asked Si Yuanting to use hidden guards to clean up the minions raised by the Ming and Qing begging faction.

After Ming and Qingqiu's faction had their two sharp canine teeth pulled out, they finally realized that Chu Yuezhi was clearly angry. If they are to be liquidated later, although the tax reform will damage their interests, if they lose their heads in order to keep some of their interests, it will not be as simple as picking sesame seeds and losing watermelons.

"Alright, reforms can't always be forced, we have to see the effect before making adjustments." Chu Yuezhi also wanted to pass this scientific examination to see the real effect of the government school reform in the past few years. If he can pass this time Only by selecting truly useful talents through scientific examinations, and adding more ministers who can be used by him in the court, plus the existing important ministers, can we better compete with those deep-rooted people from clans and noble families such as Qiu in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Partisan rivalry.

Freedom of speech and thinking is the beginning. Before this scientific examination, a notice was issued so much in advance to adjust the number of scientific examination places, and no longer set restrictions on the background of candidates. The purpose of participating in the imperial examination is to suppress the large number of gentry in the court.

Most of the family members have titles, and the royal relatives conferred the title of the queen to the fiefdom. Although there are restrictions and no actual jurisdiction over the place, they still have titles. The gentry are also born noble and have meritorious ancestors. Not only are the scholars who have studied for generations studying Confucianism respected by others, but also they have been immersed in the officialdom for many years as officials in the imperial court. The nepotism in politics is extremely complicated. Fu Jia colluded; in this way, the king sitting on the throne will naturally be restrained by the combination of the two parties.

Now that Chu Yuezhi supports the poor students, it is to let the common people rise up, and let the civil officials who really come from the common people have the opportunity to speak. Only through personal experience can we think from the perspective of the people and propose policies that are beneficial to the people.

"A few years ago, the Chief Assistant of the Secretary lifted the sea ban and resumed overseas trade, which also allowed some overseas culture to circulate in Daheng. Before that, Zhao Shangshu of the Ministry of War improved some of the firearms, and some of them also referred to the technology from overseas circulation. It can be seen that the culture How important is the openness of thought. After I ascended the throne, I removed Jinyiwei and Dongchang, and reorganized the cabinet, because the policy of excessive centralization of power is not good for the development of Daheng Kingdom. I am willing to delegate power, but these clans Relatives and dignitaries, as well as powerful families, are always standing in front of me for their own self-interest, and I am tied up, and now I urgently need to inject fresh blood into the court." Chu Yuezhi said meaningfully.

Unrestricted power is the easiest to lose control. Eunuchs no longer participate in politics, and the removal of Dongchang and Jinyiwei means that the balance of power has been broken. Previously, Si Yuanting, as the eunuch of the palm seal and the admiral of the Dongchang, carefully dealt with the corruption of the court. , has also been trying to balance the power of the court.Just as there is both good and bad speech that should be tolerated, there is no reason why power must be eradicated as long as there is a balance between good and bad.

After the balance was broken, he and Si Yuanting carried out reforms and also supported civil servants and poor students in the court who had been unsuccessful before, so that the civil official group could replace the missing power of eunuchs, and carry out reforms on the clan relatives and dignitaries in the court. Otherwise, if these people get stronger and start to act recklessly, the consequences will be disastrous.

In fact, Chu Yuezhi is not ignorant of the resistance of the clan and nobles, who would like the power in their hands to be taken away?But in fact, he didn't want to completely suppress these people, because all along, what he wanted was checks and balances.

Only with a balance of power can the Daheng Kingdom survive for a long time and stably.

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The author says:

Quoted translations in the text:

'There are ten schools of thought, but only nine of them can be seen. Although their words are different, they are like fire and water, and they are born together when they disappear. There are ten schools of thought, of which there are only nine that are worthy of appreciation; their speeches are of course different, just like water and fire, which decline and grow with each other; if they can cultivate the theory of the Six Classics, Observing and referring to the opinions of these nine schools, abandoning the shortcomings and taking the advantages, you can understand the various methods of governing the country.