Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 501: The Guest and the Accompanying Guests
Although he had met the emperor twice in succession at the Imperial College and the Xinglong Tea House, when the formal summons were conveyed to the house near the Imperial College specially set aside for the four summoned scholars, Yue Bufan, as the principal of Zhaoming Academy, still had to think carefully about how to respond. He went to bed early that night, fearing that he would not be in good spirits the next day.
The next morning, he got up early, washed up, and practiced Tai Chi in the yard, which was said to be the legacy of Emperor Taizu. When he was sure that he was refreshed, he went to have breakfast. The time for summoning him was after the morning court session, and a carriage would be sent to pick him up, so he was not worried about being late.
What made him most proud and relieved was that he arrived early, while the other three had not yet arrived in the capital, so he was the winner. Moreover, this huge place was only occupied by him and two students and two followers. It was spacious and quiet. When he walked out of the house in a new outfit, wearing a well-cut sky-blue Confucian shirt, he was immediately greeted by the two students who praised him.
Although he was no longer at the age to care about his appearance, Yue Shanchang knew that clothes make the man, and the first impression was particularly important. Even though it was not his first time to meet the emperor, he could not be careless. However, this mood, which was generally relaxed despite the importance, only lasted until he got on the carriage.
Because the carriage was not empty, but there was another strange middle-aged man sitting steadily in it!
Yue Shanzhang originally thought that it was a minor official who came to pick him up, or even a eunuch, but when he saw the other party sitting on the Diaoyutai, he felt that it was not the case. After sitting down with some doubt, he saw the guard of the Ruiqi Battalion who had just greeted him outside the carriage smiling and bowing to him.
"Originally, this car was specially sent to take you to the palace, but because the headmaster of Yuzhang Academy, Mr. Hong, had just arrived in the capital, the emperor learned about it and ordered to pick up Mr. Hong and bring him to the palace to meet you."
When he suddenly heard that the thin middle-aged man with a long beard and a stern face opposite him was actually the Principal Hong of Yuzhang Academy who wrote a letter to the emperor requesting that his eldest and second princes find concubines as soon as possible and also recommended his own virtuous daughter as a match for the eldest son, Principal Yue's heart skipped a beat. His high spirits and composure at the beginning almost disappeared in an instant.
Fortunately, he was also a man who had seen many storms and waves. He tried his best to keep his expression and just nodded. When the curtain fell, he squinted his eyes and looked at the other person for a moment, then said with a smile: "I have heard of the great name of Hong Shanchang, but I didn't expect to meet him in this car by chance today. The time you arrived in Beijing is really just right."
Dean Hong seemed not to have heard the sarcasm in Dean Yue's words. His face remained unchanged as he said in an unusually cold tone, "I came here by boat. The canal transportation was very busy, so I had to stop and go. Naturally, I couldn't travel as fast as Dean Yue who took his students around the world. It's a pity that I couldn't arrive a few days earlier, so I didn't see Jiuzhang Hall recruiting new students, nor did I see the emperor personally visit Xinglong Tea House."
"Some systems in the world can be changed, while others cannot. In particular, the two words of propriety and law have always been the pillars of a country. I think that Master Yue is also a great scholar with many students all over the world. He wouldn't not even understand this, right?"
As if he hadn't noticed that Yue Shanzhang's expression had suddenly stiffened, Principal Hong said word by word, "Your Majesty must not leave opportunities for traitors to take advantage of you in the future just because of your temporary favoritism!"
"The world is peaceful, where would the traitors come from!" Principal Yue was not willing to let Principal Hong gain the upper hand in words, so he raised his eyebrows and said seriously, "Besides, has the emperor ever changed any system? It should be that over the years, some wise men in the court have broken the ancestral system of Emperor Taizu for their own selfish reasons!"
Chief Hong Shan sneered and said pointedly: "Emperor Taizu was a great ruler. Most of the ancestral rules in the past were based on his great talent and strategy and cannot be changed. However, the only rule about establishing an heir... is wrong. There is an order of seniority and distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. This is the law of succession that has been passed down from ancient times to the . All dynasties have used bloody lessons to prove that this is correct."
"Emperor Taizong of Tang forced his father to kill his brother and his younger brother. Empress Wu Zetian not only killed her son, but also killed many members of the royal family. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang also forced his father to kill his son. So, looking back at the two hundred years of the Tang Dynasty, the truly stable days were only a few decades, and the rest of the time was filled with internal strife. In the final analysis, it was because Emperor Taizong of Tang set a bad example for future generations! Our dynasty is still like this today. If we don't want this situation to continue, we must strictly enforce the system."
Yue Shanzhang stared at Hong Shanzhang, unable to believe that he would talk about succession and system so brazenly in a carriage filled with soldiers from the Sharp Cavalry Battalion. He took a deep breath and finally calmed down.
"The emperor is in his prime, doesn't Hong Shanchang feel that he is worrying too much? Moreover, as an outsider, you rashly mentioned the internal affairs of the royal family and even recommended your own daughter. Now you are talking about the order of seniority and the difference between legitimate and illegitimate children. How dare you say that you have no selfish motives? The emperor has already made the crimes of the eldest prince public. Are you still thinking of releasing Taijia to Tong Palace?"
"It is because the emperor has already made it public that he wants to let everyone know that such an unvirtuous and unfilial son cannot be the heir, but he cannot be abandoned. As for Taijia... Principal Yue, please respect yourself. Taijia is the legitimate successor to the throne after Shang Tang, but the eldest prince is not even the crown prince. He is now just a guilty illegitimate son!"
Although Shanzhang Yue had never seen the eldest prince, he was very sure that if the eldest prince was here and heard the three words "illegitimate eldest son", he would be so angry that he would slap Shanzhang Hong in the face, and he would definitely not want such a father-in-law.
Could it be that this person was really willing to sacrifice a daughter to help the emperor become a benevolent ruler? Instead of wanting to assist the eldest prince in making a comeback as a father-in-law?
Outside the carriage, among the guards accompanying the carriage, Hua Qi, who was dressed in inconspicuous attire, listened to the noise in the carriage and could not help but sucking his teeth slightly, thinking that the people in the world with the most complicated, changeable and unpredictable minds are indeed these scholars.
What he said was that there was a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, and that there was an order of seniority. Just now, even he felt that Hong Shanchang wanted the emperor to establish the eldest son as the legitimate heir, but what was the result? What he said to Yue Shanchang now was simply frank!
The eldest prince was just a guilty illegitimate son, not even the eldest son, let alone the ruler of the Eastern Palace. In other words, just as the least popular rumors in the market said, the headmaster of Yuzhang Academy, Hong Shan, simply hoped that there would be a virtuous and capable princess to watch over the eldest prince, to persuade or discipline him not to continue to degenerate.
In this way, the emperor who chose a virtuous concubine for his eldest son would not have to bear the reputation of being harsh on his son. In order to embarrass other families who did not want to marry their daughters to the eldest prince, Hong Shanchang, who made this suggestion, took the initiative to report his own daughter as a candidate.
Listening to these words, it is so glorious, upright, and perfect, he is just short of having the word "saint" on his face!
If this head of the Hongshan clan knew that after receiving such a memorial, the emperor's already bad mood became even worse, and he was so angry that he left the palace late at night and went to the Buddhist temple that was looted during the Yewang Rebellion to pay tribute to the dead, would he still be so righteous? How much of this open and honest demeanor would be left after he met the emperor in the end?
Although he thought so, Hua Qi was only ordered by the emperor to come today to see the two famous scholars and teachers, Principal Hong and Principal Yue, and to see what the two of them would look like when they were facing each other in private. Now that he had seen it, he remembered it in his heart, but did not show it on his face.
When he escorted the carriage to Donghua Gate, he saw an attendant from the Imperial Household Department smilingly greeted Principal Hong and Principal Yue. He glanced around and saw Chu Kuan standing alone in the least conspicuous corner. He jumped off his horse and walked over, smiling and asking, "If Eunuch Chu wants to observe these two, he should go to the Qianqing Palace. What's the point of standing here and watching from afar?"
Chu Kuan and Hua Qi were old acquaintances. After glancing at him, he said casually, "The emperor invited teachers for the princes, of course, he personally examined them. Why should I, a eunuch, stand by and meddle in other people's business? Besides, aren't there more suitable people in front of the emperor to accompany him and give him advice?"
Hua Qi was immediately surprised: "A more suitable person to accompany the emperor to review? Are you talking about Grand Tutor Ge?"
"The old Grand Tutor is a person of high status. If the four summoned by the Emperor were to gather in the capital together, then perhaps he could be asked to come and take a look. Now that he has been invited, the Emperor would be embarrassed." Chu Kuan chuckled, and seeing Hua Qi's expression of enlightenment, he shrugged and said, "The Emperor has sent people to repeatedly inquire, but in the end, a fake Taoist still sneaked in."
Hua Qi smiled immediately, and then whispered to Chu Kuan what he had heard from Principal Hong about Principal Yue. After Chu Kuan heard it, he asked Principal Yue of Zhaoming Academy about his response. He learned that Yue had initially retorted, but then simply sneered in response. He nodded slightly and said, "Compared to that hypocritical scholar who is trying to attract attention, this Yue Bufan is much smarter."
Chief Hong didn't know that he had become a hypocrite in Chu Kuan's mouth. At this time, walking side by side with Chief Yue behind the eunuch who led the way, he was no longer as sharp-tongued as he was in the carriage, and kept silent all the way. Since he didn't speak, Chief Yue was even less interested in talking. As he walked, he was thinking in his heart, what exactly did Chief Hong mean.
So, when the two people with different thoughts entered the Qianqing Gate, the guards who were like nails nailed to the ground, the two people with heavy thoughts did not even notice, and directly followed the Silijian attendant who led the way to the main hall. As someone in front of the door announced loudly, they just stood in silence for a moment, and then heard the voice of the audience coming from inside.
But just as Yue Shanchang was about to walk in, he saw Hong Shanchang holding his head high and rushing ahead of him. Although he was very angry about this, it was not in line with his usual principles to rush up and fight with others at this time, so he simply let Hong Shanchang take the lead and followed with a cold face.
Based on his understanding after dealing with the emperor twice, if Hong Shanchang thinks that he can win the emperor's trust by doing his best, then he is definitely underestimating the current emperor!
When Yue Shanzhang followed Hong Shanzhang into the Qianqing Palace, he did not bow his head and lower his hands respectfully like Hong Shanzhang did, showing that he was observing etiquette and being respectful and humble. Instead, he quickly looked around. Then, he noticed two unexpected people.
One is Zhang Shou, who is standing at the lower right of the emperor. He looks calm and composed, as if he is just accompanying his family elders to meet guests!
One was a little child who was peeking out from behind Zhang Shou. It was the Fourth Prince, whom he had met twice before, in the Imperial College and the Xinglong Tea House. Today was the third time he had met him, which showed how much the Emperor loved this young child.
In fact, if Zhang Shou had not stood up before the people came in, what Yue Shanzhang and Hong Shanzhang saw at this moment should be that he was sitting calmly in the first chair to the right of the emperor. Considering that Yue Shanzhang and Hong Shanzhang were more than twice his age, it would not be a good sight for him to sit beside them and meet people, so Zhang Shou stood up.
While the report was being made outside, the Fourth Prince suddenly ran from the side of the Emperor's throne to behind him. This caught him off guard and he had no idea what this naughty little kid meant.
The emperor saw the fourth prince's outrageous behavior, but he pretended not to see it. In fact, he asked Zhang Shou to help him to observe, originally wanting to use Zhang Shou, who often did unexpected things, to stimulate the two people in front of him and observe their reactions. Sure enough, at this moment, he keenly noticed that the two people who came in one after the other had completely different reactions.
The head of the mountain, Hong Shanchang, who was walking in front, didn't even raise his head, his eyes were on his nose and his nose was on his heart, which was more solemn than respectful. The head of the mountain, Yue Shanchang, who was walking behind, not only looked at him calmly, but even nodded slightly with a smile after noticing Zhang Shou.
This comparison, and thinking of the two previous times he met with Yue Shanzhang, who had always behaved neither servilely nor arrogantly, the emperor unconsciously had a bias in his heart. Although according to Chu Kuan, a student from Zhaoming Academy had spoken out twice in the Imperial College and Xinglong Tea House, the emperor laughed it off when he heard that Zhang Shou had taken in that outspoken young man, and did not take it too seriously.
At this moment, seeing the two men coming forward to salute side by side, the emperor gave a calm order to seat them. Seeing that Shanzhang Hong took the first chair on his left without hesitation, and Shanzhang Yue took the second chair below him without dispute , he could not help but give the two men completely different scores in his mind.
And when he saw that Zhang Shou had already sat down leisurely, but the Fourth Prince was still staying behind and refusing to come over, the Emperor could not help but smile and shook his head slightly at him, and then began today's formal summons.
Compared with the previous informal meetings, the emperor was naturally not as approachable and casual this time. He first asked about the number of students in Zhaoming Academy and Yuzhang Academy, their academic performance, their wealth, their imperial examination status, whether they could support themselves, and even the tuition fees, teachers and other details. He did not miss any details.
This time, both Principal Yue and Principal Hong showed the qualities of an excellent principal. They knew the situation of their own academies like the back of their hands, and even took the opportunity of the summons to recommend their students to the best of their ability.
Zhang Shou, who often recommended students to the emperor, finally felt that he had met a rival. But at this moment, the emperor asked with a smile, "Zhang Shou, do you think you are as good as the headmasters Yue Shan of Zhaoming Academy and Hong Shan of Yuzhang Academy?"
