Chapter 352: The Literary Spirit in Gan, a Difficult Fate

The sky in the capital was gloomy, and the first spring rain seemed to be coming at any time.

The subscription trend of national debt ended as it was sold out, but everyone's life had to go on, especially the maritime trade of the Ming Dynasty had been on track.

The demand for Ming cotton cloth in the Indochina Peninsula, the South Pacific Islands, Korea and Japan has increased, and even the Ming Dynasty's sea merchants have sold cotton cloth outside Malacca, opening up the era of great navigation belonging to China.

Since the cotton cloth of the Ming Dynasty has been sold to dozens of large and small countries or tribes, the cotton cloth production in the capital is still in short supply, so everyone can only invest in a tense production state.

Although the Ming Dynasty is now at odds with the Alechuka tribe of the Haixi Jurchens, other Haixi Jurchen tribes still maintain cotton cloth trade with the Ming Dynasty, and Mongolia has always been the largest customer in the north.

After the turmoil of the New Year's Day meeting, the relationship between the Ming Dynasty and the Northern Yuan Dynasty became even closer, but for some unknown reason, the Ming Dynasty court once again generously presented a full 3,000 pieces of cotton cloth to the Northern Yuan Dynasty.

Since it was a decision made by the upper echelons, and the money that should be given to cotton farmers, female weavers and dyeing workshops was not less, the people of the capital had already invested in intensive production.

"Don't miss the Cantonese-style cakes if you pass by!"

"Hejian donkey meat hotpot, which was tasted by Emperor Dazong himself!"

"Freshly baked Guangxi Guilin rice noodles, this kind of noodles should only be found in heaven!"

...

Due to the driving effect of the textile industry, now the capital can be said to be a hundred industries, especially the catering industry is very popular, and various local snacks are emerging in an endless stream.

Unknowingly, the textile industry has driven the entire consumer market in the capital, and it has also allowed more and more people to get new livelihoods.

After all, the capital is a place of fame and fortune. Under the operation of those who are interested, the public opinion in the capital is expected to point to He Qiaoxin, who "does not take a penny".

"Has everyone forgotten that Minister He is still in prison?"

"Minister He was wrongly imprisoned, and we, the passionate men, should do our best to rescue him!"

"He has been an official for 36 years and has never taken a penny. He is the first honest official in the Ming Dynasty!"

"We should write a book for the people and petition the emperor together to ask the Censorate to release Minister He!"

...

He Xin, who was originally ignored by everyone, was mentioned again. After some public opinion guidance, some people with intentions immediately proposed the book for the people.

Throughout the ages, the public opinion has been controlled by the literati group.

As long as the dynasty can make them live comfortably, it is a "prosperous age" and a "rejuvenation". If their life is not easy, it means that they have encountered a tyrant, so the emperor who really wants to do things is often discredited.

The book for the people is just a trick of the literati. After a lot of deceitful rhetoric, because they wrote it, the people often only provide a fingerprint.

Now facing the high and mighty tyrant, they adopted the mode of "peasants eating the king", so they used this tried and tested weapon again.

Just two days later, the censors who pleaded for the Minister of Punishment He Qiaoxin submitted the letter to the emperor together with the letter to the people, but they wanted to put pressure on the emperor through the letter to the people.

"Hehe... go back and pack your things, and return home when I am released from prison. I am tired of staying in the capital!" He Qiaoxin said to his son who delivered the news after learning about the outside world.

He Tu saw that his father was so optimistic and knew that the result was probably close to 90%. Although he felt a little sorry for his official position, he thought of the days of being a local emperor in his hometown and went home to prepare to leave Beijing.

Xiyuan, Yangxin Palace.

Zhu Youtang just yawned in front of the letter to the people.

Now he has his own intelligence network, so he naturally knows the origin of this letter to the people, and immediately circled the name of Hu Cong, the official in the criminal department who presented the letter to the people.

However, he did not know how much benefit this person had received, and immediately handed it over to the Ministry of Personnel for handling. Although he had repeatedly purged the Kedao, it was inevitable that some people's lackeys were still among the Kedao officials, willing to act as mouthpieces.

Zhu Youtang did not want to delve into who Hu Cong was a disciple of, so he threw the Wanmin Book aside and continued to work on his current work.

When he opened a memorial to review, he saw that the handwriting of Liu Ji's draft was too different from Wan'an's handwriting, and he could not help but think of the old prime minister.

The rise and fall of the empire is inseparable from talents, and the prosperity of the emperor requires great talents such as Zhuge Liang.

Although Zhang Sui, Xu Hong, Liu Zhong, Chen Kun, Song Cheng, Li Yu and Wang Yue are all outstanding officials, these people have certain shortcomings, so they are not ideal prime ministers now.

Liu Ji was able to handle things beautifully and was loyal to his emperor, but he lacked a pioneering spirit and could only be barely regarded as a qualified prime minister.

However, everything seems to have been predestined, just like Wan'an suddenly disappeared, and there may be no good prime ministers in the current empire.

While the capital was still covered in ice and snow, Jiangxi, thousands of miles away, had already welcomed spring.

"The way of university is to manifest the bright virtue, to be close to the people, and to stop at the highest good. Knowing the limit will lead to determination; determination will lead to tranquility; tranquility will lead to peace; peace will lead to consideration; consideration will lead to..."

"Everything has its roots and branches, and things have their beginnings and ends."

"In ancient times, those who wanted to manifest the bright virtue in the world first governed their country. Those who wanted to govern their country first governed their family. Those who wanted to govern their family first cultivated themselves. Those who wanted to correct their hearts first..."

...

In the vast land of Jiangxi, the sound of reading aloud rang out in various schools. It seems that the humanities here are flourishing, and the literary atmosphere of Jiangxi is indeed the best in the country.

In the only palace examination during the Jianwen Dynasty, the top three imperial examination candidates, the champion, the runner-up and the third place, were all from Ji'an, Jiangxi, which gave rise to the allusion of "Ji Shui Zhong Quan Bang".

In the first palace examination during the Yongle period, among the 470 Jinshi in the country, 113 were from Jiangxi. In the imperial examination of the year, the champion, the runner-up and the third place were still "made up" by Jiangxi people. Among the top ten in the country, Jiangxi occupied five places.

It is for this reason that there is also the saying that "Ji'an Prefecture has many champions since ancient times, and Jiangxi Province has many Jinshi since ancient times".

Taihe County, under the jurisdiction of Ji'an Prefecture, is located in the Jitai Plain, so it is suitable for agricultural production, so that many children can seek official careers through studying.

Yinjia Village is a small village far away from the county seat, but it is located in the plain, and the vast fields are full of hardworking people busy.

In the pine forest at the entrance of the village, there was a large academy. In front of the academy, there was a plaque with the words "Qingsong Academy". The sound of children reading aloud could be heard.

A fat old man came hurriedly in a carriage, with a very anxious look on his face. He got off the carriage and rushed into the academy.

When he saw his brother-in-law here, he immediately cried and asked for help: "Brother-in-law, please save me!"

The students who were reciting were interrupted and looked at each other, and then looked at the teacher sitting in front of them.

Yin Zhi wore a Confucian scarf on his head and a cloak similar to a Taoist robe. He had wide sleeves and a straight waist, just like the most standard teacher in the world.

At this moment, he was supervising the students to review their books here. Seeing his brother-in-law suddenly breaking in, he couldn't help but frowned slightly. He didn't like being interrupted while teaching.

After telling his favorite disciple Yan Mo, he took his brother-in-law to the duty room next to him: "Why are you so panicked? What happened?"

"Brother-in-law, you must save me!" Yan Yan's eyes were filled with tears, and he looked begging.

Yin Zhi looked at his brother-in-law seriously, and said solemnly: "Although I still have some connections in the officialdom, if you commit crimes, please go back!"

He Yin Zhi was a natural prodigy. He passed the examination of a scholar at a young age. At that time, he was full of vigor and vitality. After successfully passing the Jiangxi Provincial Examination, he became a genius candidate in Jiangxi.

In the fifth year of Jingtai, he ranked second in the joint examination at the age of only 23.

Although he did not rank high in the subsequent palace examination, he was able to enter the Hanlin Academy with the identity of a Shujishi by virtue of his age and the second place in the joint examination, and his delicate face with southerners.

At that time, if he knew that this road to becoming a prime minister that everyone envied would be so difficult, he would definitely choose to give up the opportunity to enter the Hanlin Academy, even if he had to be sent to a local county magistrate.

Three years later, he successfully stayed in the Hanlin Academy as a Hanlin editor and became a poor Hanlin official.

After more than ten years of Hanlin official career, although he did not get the status of an imperial teacher, he made contributions in compiling the "Yingzong Shilu" and was appreciated by Emperor Xianzong.

Just when everyone in the officialdom thought that he was dispensable, and even thought that he was gradually moving away from the political center, but in the spring of the eleventh year of Chenghua, he was promoted to the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites as a Hanlin Academy Bachelor.

This promotion was granted by imperial decree, not the high recommendation of the civil service group, and he was criticized by the civil service group for this promotion.

However, after such a long time in the Hanlin Academy, he had already seen the faces of the hypocrites in the Qing Dynasty, so he chose to take a shortcut like Wan'an.

It was just fate that when he was about to show his strength, he encountered the mourning period, so he had to return to his hometown in Jiangxi to observe mourning.

From the fifth year of Jingtai to the eleventh year of Chenghua, after twenty-one years of waiting, he finally made up his mind to go against the civil service group, but he fell flat on his face as soon as he took a step.

After the three-year mourning period, the court had already changed a lot, and he, the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites who had not yet shown his strength, seemed to be completely forgotten by Emperor Yingzong.

Because he had the stigma of the imperial party, and the position of the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites was obtained by imperial decree, he was not liked by Yin Min, the then Minister of Personnel.

In fact, this is the real officialdom. Even if you keep saying that you want to benefit the people, the result is that you are a party that unites with the party and you always consider your personal interests the most.

Because of this, he was naturally excluded by the civil service group, and the place where he rose again was arranged in Nanjing, serving as a right assistant minister of the Ministry of Personnel without real power.

This wait lasted another eight years.

During this period, he was only promoted from the right assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel to the left assistant minister of the Nanjing Ministry of Personnel.

In the 22nd year of Chenghua, Yu Zijun, the Minister of War, was impeached for embezzling money and property by building border walls because he used 1.5 million taels and 2.3 million stones of rice and beans and forced countless people to work.

In fact, such things are not uncommon. Whether it is river management, canal transportation, or building river embankments and borders, they are the most important means for officials to make money.

Although officials such as Ruan Qin, the left assistant minister of the Ministry of War, complained for Yu Zijun, Xianzong decided to order Yu Zijun, who had just taken office as the Minister of War, to retire.

In this court struggle, he finally got the opportunity through his fellow villager Li Zisheng, and returned to the capital from Nanjing to serve as the left assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue and Hanlin scholar, and then was appointed as the Minister of War.

In the face of the Champa Prince Gu Lai incident, he did not listen to the proposal of the Ministry of Rites to send Gu Lai away, but advocated sending envoys to escort Champa Prince Gu Lai back to his country.

It seemed as if God was deliberately playing a joke on him. He had only been in the position of Minister of War for less than a year. Just when he had gained the trust of Emperor Xianzong, the palace received the sad news of Emperor Xianzong's death.

He was successful at a young age, but his life was full of twists and turns. Every time he was about to show his talents, he encountered major changes that determined his future.

By the time of the Hongzhi New Dynasty, he was tired of the struggles in the Ming officialdom, and he believed that the new emperor had been deceived by civil officials such as Xu Pu, so he took the initiative to retire.

Because he had almost never mastered real power throughout his career, and he wanted to display his ambitions in less than a year as Minister of War, his career actually maintained the cleanliness of the Hanlin official period.

After returning to Jiangxi from the capital, he also decided to serve as the head of Qingsong Academy in his village, living this kind of plain and fulfilling life.

Although his career had ended, he had studied hard in the Hanlin Academy for more than ten years, and he did not slack off in Nanjing, so he wanted to pass on what he had learned throughout his life.

Now facing his brother-in-law's request for help, although he does not have many connections in the officialdom and is even ostracized by the entire civil service group, the word "shelter" has never appeared in his dictionary, and he does not intend to condone evil.

"Brother-in-law, how could I do that? How could you look at me like that?" Yan Su looked very aggrieved, and immediately told the whole story: "I bought a piece of land at a low price in the east of the county at the end of last year. At that time, I just thought I had picked up a great bargain, and I didn't conduct a detailed investigation. Who knew that County Magistrate Gou suddenly surveyed the land, and found that the land was actually a hidden field after the survey, and threatened to report to the court to include my Yan family in the list of unruly people!"

Yin Zhi's eyes narrowed slightly, and he immediately saw through the truth of the matter and said: "If this is true, then someone deliberately set a trap for you!"

"Yes, I have already found out clearly that the Zeng family is behind this! Otherwise, how dare County Magistrate Gou go there without any notice and survey the land!" Yan Su's eyes flashed with hatred, and he said angrily.

Yin Zhi, however, took the matter a step further, and a hint of hatred flashed across his eyes as he said, "If the Zeng family is behind this and didn't take the opportunity to extort money from you, then this matter is actually aimed at me!"