Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 402: The ancestral system is bullshit!
In the second hall of the county government, Zhang Shou made an excuse that it was none of his business and slipped away. Ge Yong was so angry that he slammed the armrest and cursed. However, when the old man wanted to slip away, it would not be so easy. Not to mention that Lu Chan would never let go of this old tutor who could make the final decision in front of the emperor, even Zhu Tingfang would not let him go.
He has already let Zhang Shou go. If he lets Ge Yong go too, won't he have to face Lu Chan alone?
However, Lu Chan's request was very big, and he put it forward directly with a sincere Although Zhu Tingfang and Ge Yong would not easily agree or make a promise, they would not refuse it outright like those civil servants who were very cautious about eunuchs. After a period of wrangling, the two of them finally agreed to Lu Chan and would consider the matter carefully.
But after sending Lü Chan away with gifts, Zhu Tingfang's face, which had been indifferent but at least polite, suddenly became cold: "Mr. Ge, our dynasty has restricted the number of eunuchs since Taizu, and has also restricted eunuchs from being sent out to supervise the army and taxes, etc. This is a rule passed down from our ancestors. What Lü Chan is doing now should not represent him alone. He has Chu Kuan and other eunuchs behind him."
Seeing that Ge Yong was calm and silent, he paused and continued, "During the years since the Emperor ascended the throne, because of the Empress Dowager's strict defense, there are few female officials around him and many eunuchs, so that now most of the female officials' powers are usurped by eunuchs, and the power of the Ministry of Ceremonies is getting longer and longer. Is this really instructed by the Emperor? And what Lu Chan just proposed, is it considered to be trying to guess the Emperor's intentions and interfere in politics?"
"Taizu has many ancestral rules, and the person who knows them best is Yingying, who often goes to the Ancient and Modern Collection to look through Taizu's scrolls. Ask her how many of them are still strictly enforced today?"
Ge Yong asked Zhu Tingfang a question, then smiled and drank two sips of tea to moisten his throat. Without even looking at Zhu Tingfang's gloomy face, he said to himself, "Others may not know about ancestral rules, but you don't know? That's bullshit. You can throw it away when you need it, and pick it up when you want. What's the point of respecting heaven and following ancestors? Only the interests that have been passed down for dozens or hundreds of years are truly untouchable."
"Take the emperor for example. Ten years ago, do you think that even if he had the evidence that the Taizu plaque had been shelved , he could have reopened Jiuzhangtang? It was impossible. Not to mention Zhang Shou, even if I personally appealed to him in the court, it would not have been possible. Why was it not possible then, but possible now? It's very simple. He has been cultivating this group of old people for twenty years, hoping to wipe out old man Jiang and his group of old people."
“So, even if there are people who criticize, there are also people who support it, which is why it was so easy to reopen Jiuzhangtang last year.”
"But even if old man Jiang is really brought down this time, and a new group of people come on stage, do you think that the court is a place where whatever the emperor says goes? It's impossible. Some people will continue to serve as his mouthpieces, while some people already have a large number of people under their command and cannot ignore the interests of their followers. Those who can share hardships will go their separate ways when they share wealth."
Ge Yong, who had experienced ups and downs in the political world for half his life, put the teacup heavily on the high table beside him. He then said word by word: "In the eyes of Lü Chan and others, they are the only ones who hold the ancestral system of Taizu as the golden rule. In their eyes, they are the staunch supporters of the ancestral system of Taizu and the most loyal henchmen of the royal family, unlike the foreign ministers who are demanding and insatiable."
It was rare for Master Ge to say so much in one breath. He felt a little tired at this moment, so he stood up and stretched comfortably. But before the old man dusted off his clothes and prepared to go out, he suddenly heard Zhu Tingfang ask a question that surprised him.
"Has Mr. Ge ever told Zhang Shou about this penetrating analysis?"
"That lazy boy, I told him all this, but he dared to cover his ears and run away. Do you believe it?"
Ge Yong blew his beard and glared angrily, "You know my last disciple, your future brother-in-law, has many tricks and good methods, but he is the type who will slap someone if he offends him, and he has no ambition to get promoted and make money. So Chu Kuan has known him for a long time, do you see him having any extra interactions with others?"
Zhu Tingfang was speechless for a moment, and Ge Yong's subsequent muttering made him even more embarrassed.
"So when something happened in Cangzhou, the emperor asked him about it, but he recommended you to come, thinking that you were decisive and could clean up the situation. If you hadn't dragged him into it, he definitely wouldn't have come. But since he came, he still did a lot of things for the people here wholeheartedly. But that's not because he thinks he will be rewarded if he does a good job, but because he is soft-hearted and feels guilty."
"Do you believe that he dared to leave us and go away just now? Maybe he has already submitted a petition to return to Beijing? Oh, or should I say, under the banner of sending an old man like me back to Beijing?"
Before Zhu Tingfang could say whether he believed it or not, the old man yawned lazily again.
"I came here this time to take the blame for him, his last disciple, so that his thin arms and legs won't be able to bear the sin of favoring the rioters. Now that the matter is settled, of course I also plan to go back. Without Old Man Chu and Old Man Qi, Cangzhou is not a place for learning. I estimate that if he requests to return to Beijing, he will definitely succeed."
"As for you... before Xian Yunhe and his men leave for Qiongzhou Prefecture, the imperial court will not send anyone to take up the post of Changlu County Magistrate. You have to sit here and hold the post concurrently. At best, I will go back and talk to the emperor to send you a few subordinates to help you . Who can guarantee that the replacement will not overturn your good old policies?"
"Some people in the court were most dissatisfied with Emperor Taizu for not appointing the eldest legitimate son as the heir. Some even believed that this was the reason for the frequent turmoil during the succession. Therefore, no matter how bad the eldest prince was, there were still a group of people who stuck to etiquette and law to support him. Do you believe that if the county magistrate was not properly selected, Xian Yunhe and others might be put to death without punishment?"
"Plus, the emperor wants to build a port in Cangzhou, which affects the interests of many people. Anyway, whether it is the magistrate of Changlu County, the governor of Cangzhou, or the prefect of Cangzhou as Lu Chan said, in short, it is difficult to find this candidate. Not to mention those people in the court, even the emperor and your father must be looking for talents who can come and take over for you."
Seeing Ge Yong sigh and shake his head after he finished speaking, and then walk out slowly with his hands behind his back, Zhu Tingfang couldn't help but rub his eyebrows in annoyance. Ever since Du Heng heard the news that Cangzhou was expected to build a port, the commander Du, who had tried to show off, immediately behaved himself and secretly gave him a lot of ideas for training the navy, all of which he sent to the emperor.
He was indeed very good at handling the situation in Cangzhou, and even the lawsuits that were initially handled simply and roughly were now easily resolved. Otherwise, if he really relied solely on his background and qualifications, he could shock this place for a while, but it would not last long.
But if he left, even if Zhang Shou left Zhang Chen and Zhu Er behind, would the government really not end with him? Even if the court could choose a suitable candidate who could continue his and Zhang Shou's measures, govern Cangzhou well, and really build a port in the future, would that person be able to withstand the pressure from all sides?
Especially if what Lu Chan wanted was really successful, and the eunuchs successfully broke through the previous ban and served as military supervisors or even tax supervisors, would the local chief of Cangzhou be able to suppress them?
In fact, if Cangzhou is upgraded to a prefecture, the prefect of Cangzhou will be a fourth-rank official... Even if it is not upgraded to a prefecture, it will be a fifth-rank prefect. Qin Guogong Zhang Chuandu can still serve as the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture as a meritorious official. If he wants to switch from military to civil service, it will not be difficult to seek a fifth-rank prefect or even a fourth-rank prefect. But is it worth it?
Moreover, if he wanted to stay, Zhu Er would not be able to stay here. Otherwise, the eldest brother would be the chief, while the second brother would gather a group of cotton farmers to form a cooperative. What kind of a thing would that be? In this way, Zhu Er's hard work under the scorching sun these days would be in vain.
So...it's a really tricky problem!
Zhu Tingfang narrowed his eyes slightly, and then sighed silently. It would be great if Zhang Shou could stay. Unfortunately, Zhang Shou seemed to have no interest in local governance, and his qualifications were not enough.
If Zhang Shou knew that his future brother-in-law was actually considering the possibility of which of the two of them would stay in Cangzhou, he would definitely think that he was just worrying about nothing.
He never worried about the future, thinking that there were no top talents in the world, only himself - in the future, when there were many top students and many science experts, if you think too highly of yourself, someone strong will crush your confidence to pieces in a minute. As for today's era, he was more interested in discovering talents and helping students with things, rather than doing everything himself.
So, when he returned to his room and was packing up with Ah Liu, he suddenly heard a heavy cold snort, and he did not even think about getting up and greeting him with a smile. Sure enough, Ah Liu walked out quickly, and soon he helped his teacher in respectfully. As Ge Yong walked away, he cursed, "You unworthy disciple, you always make me take the blame for you!"
Zhang Shou spoke without thinking: "Who made the teacher extremely talented, unparalleled in mathematics, famous all over the world, wise and brave..."
Before Zhang Shou could finish his long string of messy four-character idioms... flattery that couldn't even be called idioms, Ge Yong couldn't stand it anymore. He glared at him and interrupted him: "Your future brother-in-law wants to take care of everything by himself. Seeing you so idle makes him feel uncomfortable. I am more worried that Jiuzhangtang will be in a mess without you. From the looks of you, are you planning to set off at any time?"
"That's right." Zhang Shou laughed. Seeing Teacher Ge glaring at him again, he said sincerely, "I'm also worried about the students of Jiuzhang Hall. Besides, after calculating the date, I think it's time to recruit the second batch of students. In the future, we will recruit students once a year and graduate in four years. This should be a permanent system. In this way, Jiuzhang Hall will continue to operate for a long time, and teachers will no longer have to worry about the lack of successors in mathematics."
Ge Yong swallowed back the lesson that was about to come out of his mouth - even though his lesson was just for show. He had long forgotten how to educate Zhang Shou, his favorite disciple who was excellent in all aspects but had a certain temper that made people unable to talk about it. He was not the one who educated him to be what he is now.
So, he could only walk forward, angrily using the same method as treating a child, and flicked Zhang Shou's forehead. Seeing that he did not dodge, he said with a fierce face: "Alright, don't I know you? You have lost four students in Cangzhou and Xingtai. If there is any problem, you can solve it even in the capital. There is really no need to stay in Cangzhou."
Knowing that Teacher Ge came here just to vent his anger about being blamed, Zhang Shou took the hit voluntarily. After seeing the old man off, he saw that he had packed up the two boxes. He then touched his chin and asked, "When I came here, I rode with Du Heng on horseback. My thighs were almost worn out. I don't think I brought two boxes this big, right?"
Ah Liu had long been accustomed to Zhang Shou's strange focus - because in some ways, he and Zhang Shou were very similar. At this moment, he really pondered over Zhang Shou's words for a while, and then his expression became extremely subtle.
"The last time the young lady came, she brought a large box of clothes with her. I didn't think much about it after I received it. I changed a set for you every day. She also took your measurements and had four sets made in Cangzhou, so there should be a total of twelve sets of clothes in this box, all in various shades of green."
"..." Zhang Shou slapped his head, feeling extremely embarrassed.
No wonder he clearly remembered that he was in a hurry and had to leave with only two sets of clothes. It was not until Ah Liu reminded him that he remembered that after Zhu Ying came, he seemed to have never been out of clothes...
Otherwise, considering the fact that clothes these days are not durable when washed, they fade and shrink after washing. His two sets of summer clothes would probably have their sleeves and hems much shorter by now from all the washing!
And because he didn't care about his clothes at all, there were various kinds of blue, such as lotus blue, stone blue, sky blue... Firstly, the colors were not eye-catching, and secondly, the colors and shapes were similar. He didn't even notice how many sets of clothes he had changed!
"Then are you going to take these two boxes of clothes back with you?" Seeing Zhang Shou's helpless expression, Ah Liu added, "Anyway, the eldest lady must have prepared eight or ten sets of clothes for you in the capital a long time ago. It's just right to donate these old clothes to the poor scholars in Cangzhou, and it can also reduce the weight of the carriage."
Zhang Shou couldn't help but glance at the serious-looking boy. Throwing away clothes to lighten the load, this prodigal son's habit didn't seem to exist in Rongshui Village, right? It's impossible for all of the dozen or so sets of clothes to fade and shrink, there must be some that can still be worn... Before he, the imperial envoy, left Cangzhou, he gave away clothes like a welfare gift, what would people say if it got out?
But think about it, Ah Liu never cares about material things. But before he could scold him, he heard Xiao Huasheng's voice coming from outside: "Sixth brother, don't waste things! Alter them so that I can wear them!"
Following the voice, Peanut rushed in. Seeing Ah Liu looking at him strangely, he thought that he was unwilling to wear them. He was about to explain, but Ah Liu strode forward, compared his figure with his, and then patted him on the head: "I forgot that some of the clothes have shrunk and faded. Even I can't wear them. Peanut is just right. You don't need to alter them."
Zhang Shou then smiled, "There's no need to give them away randomly. Besides, the scholars in Cangzhou don't need a few old clothes. It seems that Mr. Xu's Wendao School recruits only poor students, right? Let Zhu Er, Zhang Chen and Young Master Jiang jointly donate some money, and I will also donate 180 strings of cash. The most important thing is, before I leave, I will go and pick out any good mathematics talents and bring a few to the capital!"
