Chapter 222 Answering the questions of the courtiers on behalf of the king
Chapter 222 Answering questions from ministers on behalf of the king
Author: Silent
Chapter 222 Answering questions from ministers on behalf of the king
Zhang Zhou wanted to entertain the women and children of Zhu Youtang's family.
After it got dark in the afternoon, he followed Zhu Youtang back to Qianqing Palace. At this time, Zhu Youtang drank two glasses of wine, his face was rosy and a little drunk, but Dai Yi asked Dai Yi to take out a bunch of memorials that he was embarrassed to take out before. , showed it to Zhang Zhou.
"Bingkuan, I don't even want to mention this to you. There have been a lot of troops deployed on the Nine Sides in the past two months, but most of them are based on my intention. People in the court who don't understand what they mean will come up one after another to question it, which is very annoying. Take a look."
Then he asked Dai Yi to take several copies of the memorial to Zhang Zhou.
In fact, Zhang Zhou probably knew it even if he didn't read it.
From the use of troops at Piantou Pass to the current use of troops in Liaodong, the emperor made his own decisions after listening to his opinions. The strategy of sending troops had almost nothing to do with the courtiers. Civil officials felt that the emperor repeatedly skipped the court to do things, regardless of the emperor's affairs. If he was right or wrong, they would raise questions and advise the emperor to correct his mentality and listen carefully to the opinions of ministers, etc.
The use of troops at Piianguan and the use of troops at Ningyuan in Liaodong were also "biased".
The Piantou Pass was bombed to a pulp by Wang Yue, and Ning Yuan was the emperor who sent three highly controversial people in the army to lead the troops, or to prepare for the three Duoyan Guards to take the initiative to attack... No matter how you look at it, this is not a normal deployment of troops.
Zhang Zhou said: "Your Majesty, it was me who caused all this and caused trouble for Your Majesty."
Zhu Youtang took advantage of the wine and sat down on the chair very relaxedly. He waved his hands and said, "This has nothing to do with you. You have always been doing it for me and the Ming Dynasty. You have not made any mistakes. Why should you admit your mistakes to me?"
Dai Yi smiled and said: "Yes, Mr. Zhang, those officials are not familiar with the world. So far, your proposal has made all the towns on the nine sides of the Ming Dynasty safe, and the soldiers are united."
Yeah?
Zhang Zhou almost wanted to say that he had forgotten that after the battle at Piantou Pass, Dayan Khan and the three guards of Duoyan still dared to invade the country and plunder people and animals, right?
"Your Majesty, if the ministers have any opinions on this matter, you may wish to let me face it and answer their questions. I am willing to share your worries for your majesty."
Zhang Zhou couldn't help but be interested.
Since the emperor mentioned this matter to him, the emperor wanted to let him make suggestions.
In fact, it is very simple to solve this kind of thing, that is, find a "knowledgeable" person to explain to the ministers. Regardless of whether the theory proposed by the knowledgeable person can be accepted by those ministers, at least on the matter of shifting conflicts. , the effect is very significant.
Now those ministers are targeting the "willful" emperor. If Zhang Zhou goes out to argue with the ministers, the ministers will definitely target him.
Zhu Youtang said: "Bingkuan, don't get me wrong. I have no intention of asking you to answer questions for those ministers, and no matter what you say, they won't listen."
Zhang Zhou said with a smile: "It depends on people. If all this is caused by me, and I can't avoid it, they will feel that your majesty is shielding me, and their attitude towards me will be even worse. Didn't your majesty also say that you want to Will you serve as an official well in the future?"
You, as the emperor, have not hidden my existence as a minister. Even if those ministers are targeting you now, don't they know that I am making suggestions behind the scenes?
You also said that you would help me become an official. Your partial attitude towards me is the biggest "resistance" to my career advancement.
Of course, this resistance is only relative to the attitude of those civil servants. To put it another way, fools don't want the emperor's absolute trust.
No matter what those civil servants think, what those civil servants mean is that any civil servant who comes forward will be suppressed regardless of whether he is right or wrong, and everything must be according to their rules of seniority. If I follow their standards, I will not be able to stay in the officialdom for twenty or thirty years. , don’t even think about becoming the pillar of Ming Dynasty.
Playing with Wenchen?
joke.
It is unthinkable that someone whom the emperor and prince absolutely trust would play with those civil servants.
Dai Yi saw Zhu Youtang's hesitation and said, "Your Majesty, I also think Mr. Zhang's words are reasonable. Why not...let him try it?"
After Zhu Youtang thought about it, he reluctantly nodded and said: "Well, come to the palace early tomorrow morning and talk to them about this matter. Don't worry, if they make things difficult for you, I won't sit back and ignore it."
…
…
Zhang Zhou felt that he was going to have a verbal battle with the Confucian scholars.
As a new scholar, this is not the first time he has argued with ministers in court. But before, he only defended himself who was involved in the vend case. It was not a head-on confrontation with the ministers. But this time it was different. He wanted to go directly to the court. The ministers debated the use of troops in the northwest, Liaodong and other places.
The challenge is still very high.
When she got home that night, Jiang Pingyu was still teaching two new maids how to do things. The two new maids were named Autumnal Equinox and Winter Solstice.
After gathering all the spring, summer, autumn and winter together, plus the two maids brought over by Wang Mingshan, there are already six working women in Zhang Zhou's house. Plus the nursing home and other things, the population is close to twenty The number of people is large, and this does not include the guards who help guard the home and care for the home at night.
"Master, have you been drinking?" Jiang Pingyu took Zhang Zhou's coat and felt the smell of alcohol.
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "After I won the first prize, I had a lot of entertainment. There was a favor banquet during the day, and in the afternoon I went to the palace to accompany His Majesty. The Empress and the Empress Dowager just had a few drinks and were not drunk at all."
Do you think everyone is like your father, a drunkard?
Old Man Jiang is a little inferior when drinking with me, but he can knock down anyone outside. Why does this guy like to come and drink with me? It’s not because it’s the first time he feels that those who fought against him in the past are facing defeat. Pressure on him?
"Go to bed early, I have to go to the palace early tomorrow morning." Zhang Zhou said, "His Majesty also gave me a court dress, a sixth-grade historian, and I will be an official in the Hanlin Academy from now on."
Jiang Pingyu said happily: "Then the master will officially become an official? This is called a big Dengke. Didn't the master say that I will also have a small Dengke? I have taught the Wang sister a lot of things in the past two days. She is already in the room tonight. Waiting for you."
"this……"
Only then did Zhang Zhou remember that he had previously mentioned that he would be admitted to the imperial examination at a high level and then at a small level.
But I am busy with so many things today, how can I remember? Besides, I have to go to the palace early tomorrow morning to argue with the scholars. If I stay busy until very late tonight, I will not sleep well and will not be energetic tomorrow morning. What should I do if I can’t follow my ideas and misfire?
"Oh, madam, you are also very strange, why do you push your husband to someone else's embroidered couch?" Zhang Zhou said with emotion.
Jiang Pingyu's eyes widened.
Did her husband change gender today? Why would she ask her about such a thing?
Zhang Zhou smiled and said: "Today is too tiring, so let's put it to tomorrow. Tomorrow...should be convenient for her, right?"
"It should be, there is no problem. The master should come back early tomorrow." Jiang Pingyu ordered.
"Well, I'll be back as soon as I'm done. I'll try to be back by noon. I won't go anywhere until the morning of the day after tomorrow. How can I do things like gymnastics if I don't work hard and do it quickly?"
Zhang Zhou suddenly felt confident again.
Although I can't do anything too strenuous tonight, I still want to have a good sleep with my wife in my arms. The high bed, soft pillow, warm fragrance, and full of enjoyment are simply unworthy of traveling through time.
…
…
Early the next morning.
Zhang Zhou put on his new court clothes and took Wang Mingshan out.
Wang Mingshan didn't mind at all about being let off by Zhang Zhou last night. Even if Jiang Pingyu and Han Qing gave her some advice recently, she didn't understand what impact it would have on her life.
Isn't it just sleeping?
Where to sleep is not sleep? How to sleep is not sleep?
They were all sent to the Zhang family by their grandfather and father. Is it more tiring to rest on the embroidered couch than to follow Zhang Zhou every day?
Inside the palace.
In front of the Fengtian Palace, the ministers entered the palace early. Originally, they did not know what would happen in the court hall today, but when they saw Zhang Zhou arriving under the guidance of Xiao Jing, and Zhang Zhou was wearing a suit, they should have waited for two days.
The official uniform will be given only in the future.
Some of them seemed to realize that today's court meeting would not be too simple.
"Bingkuan, we meet again!"
Zhang Zhou stood alone among the civil servants. Civil servants who could come to Fengtian Palace to discuss matters would intentionally keep a distance from him.
But Wu Xun's side had no taboos, and Zhang Mao even warmly welcomed Zhang Zhou to Wu Xun's side, and also introduced several Xun officials around him.
"Bingkuan is a talented person. The number one scholar in the Ming Dynasty, the third-level scholar, will definitely become a general or a general in the future. Look how decent this official uniform is. It is really worthy of your majestic appearance, Bingkuan..."
Zhang Mao didn't blush at all when he praised people.
Wu Xun, on the other hand, seemed to think that what Zhang Mao said made sense, and he seemed to be nodding his head, or even saying a few words of compliment, which made the civil servants not far away feel uncomfortable hearing this.
The sand in our eyes is like gold bumps on Wu Xun's side?
…
…
The court meeting begins.
As expected, Zhang Zhou still stood at the bottom of the list of civil servants, standing together with several members of the Sixth Section.
The content discussed at the beginning of the court meeting involved the royal palaces in various places, natural and man-made disasters, as well as local reports about bandits and plunder, etc. The thorny matters of the six departments were put into the second step. As for Zhang Zhou, he just stood up
Listen in the back, if he is not called, the matter has nothing to do with him, and there is no need for him to come out and add any opinions.
The meeting passed the middle stage.
Zhu Youtang personally raised the issue of the use of troops on the nine sides.
"...At the end of the first month of the year, I asked Wang Weining to prepare for the war at Pianguan. In February, during the battle at Pianguan, the Diyi invasions had begun to subside. However, after entering March, the Duoyan Three Guards and the Tatars
The little prince still does not think about his duties as a minister, and there have been successive acts of banditry to disturb the people. In the past two months, I have made many deployments and deployments of defenses in various places on the nine borders, and you have many questions..."
The ministers present said to themselves that there is no need for you, Your Majesty, to summarize it for us.
As long as you say that you will listen to us and follow our rules from now on, then no one will question you.
You listen to us, but we still question it, does that mean we question ourselves?
Zhu Youtang said: "I don't want to explain too much about the use of troops. Some things involve God's will, and I don't know whether I should reveal it in advance. I specially called Zhang Zhou, a new scholar in the science, because he was involved in some things, especially the partial pass.
Good news, he deserves the most credit, if you have any questions, just ask him."
"Wow."
As soon as the emperor finished speaking, the court instantly exploded.
The emperor didn't explain it himself, but actually asked us to ask that boy Zhang Zhou?
No wonder this boy appeared in the court today. Is he here to be the emperor's "shield" today?
The ministers here were still discussing in private, and Zhang Zhou walked out from the last row of the civil service team under the eyes of everyone, and slowly walked to the front of the Fengtian Hall. On the left and right were Liu Jian and Zhang Mao.
"I see your Majesty," Zhang Zhou said.
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Zhang Qing's family, you don't have to be polite. There are some things today. It's up to you to talk to all the ministers. In fact, I am not very clear about some parts. Let's just answer your questions and clear up your doubts."
"yes."
Zhang Zhou first bowed his hands and responded respectfully.
Then he turned sideways and looked at the civil servants present.
He didn't need to look at Wu Xun. Just from Zhang Mao and others' previous attitude towards him, he could see that Wu Xun's power to participate in and discuss government affairs in the court was not as good as his own.
During the Hongzhi period, the nobles and nobles were so happy that they turned into dogs in the court. Do you expect them to come out and take the lead?
Zhang Zhou cleared his throat, and said loudly in a calm tone that was neither humble nor arrogant: "I know that I have little talent and limited knowledge, and my talents and knowledge cannot be compared with those of the elders and ministers. However, I also have some opinions of my own on the use of troops. If you have any doubts, , I will do my best to explain the reasons for you, but if there are any important matters related to heaven and earth that cannot be explained clearly, please forgive me. I will be polite here. "
Let’s just start with this opening.
Even some picky people, such as Xie Qian, felt that Zhang Zhou was quite "cognizant".
He actually knows how to admit his mistake to us first, which shows that he has little talent and little knowledge.
But no matter how you look at it, you seem to be showing off your power to us.
We think you are, you are! No fucking explanation! This is called stereotyping and prejudice. The cause you planted should have the result today, and you won’t be able to change it for a while!
Xie Qian spoke sharply and asked with a smile: "God's will? Are you saying that you are using God's will to assist His Majesty in handling court affairs?"
Xie Qian saw that he was a master of sophistry. When he came up, he didn't ask about the war in Liaodong. He first grabbed Zhang Zhou's words about "God's will" and described Zhang Zhou as a treacherous sycophant who helped the emperor with his plans. Act of.
Zhang Zhou smiled.
In debates, regardless of the cause or outcome, one only first establishes one's position and puts one's hat on him. This is indeed the first element of sophistry. It puts the opponent at the disadvantage of public opinion, and then preaches to the upper hand in a tone that appeals to the public.
It's like a debate on a college campus.
However, as an educator, he Zhang was the organizer and initiator of such debates in the past, and today he was going to debate.
The opponent... looks pretty strong.
But if compared to the debate masters trained in the future era of information explosion, it is really not certain who is stronger or weaker.
Zhang Zhou was laughing in his heart.
Mr. Xie Ge, how many books on philosophical speculation have you read? How are you studying the theories of existentialism, materialism, liberalism and conservatism?
"Yes, Mr. Xie Ge, you are right. I am using God's will to advise His Majesty. I have talked a lot about strange powers and chaos. Sometimes even I don't know whether this God's will will really be fulfilled, so Sometimes when I think about it, I feel very scared, fearing that if I make the wrong step, I will be doomed." Zhang Zhou told Xie Qian in a calm tone.
"Um?"
Xie Qian was also confused.
This kid...
Just admit it?
Is it too easy for me to gain the upper hand in public opinion? Is this kid going to admit defeat? You don’t even understand the principle of using strange power to confuse gods without words?
By using God's will to help govern the country, do you want others not to know that you are a sycophant?
Zhang Zhou took advantage of Xie Qian's surprise and while he was still wondering about the intention of Zhang Zhou's words, he turned to Zhu Youtang and solemnly admitted his mistake and said: "Your Majesty, I always make suggestions based on God's will, even when it comes to using troops. I am involved or suspected of disturbing the government. I hope your majesty will forgive me!"
Admitting a mistake? No, is this an admission of guilt?
this……
No matter how well Xie Qian knew how to debate, he was still a little unprepared for what was happening in front of him.
Zhu Youtang smiled and said: "Zhang Qing family, you don't have to blame yourself. God's will already exists. Otherwise, why have kings governed affairs and ministers spoken in accordance with the laws of heaven since ancient times? Besides, ever since you gave me advice, you There is not a single thing that has been predicted that has not been fulfilled. Whether it is the will of God or the human heart, you can clearly understand it. If you are blamed for this, then I am really too stupid!"
Xie Qian heard this.
He couldn't help but close his eyes and sighed in his heart.
Didn't expect this.
It seems that in the first sentence, this kid is not self-proclaimed and admits that he is a magician and a sycophant. But the biggest problem is not what he is, but that the emperor trusts him. What is even worse is that this kid has not made repeated suggestions before. Even if he is wrong, even if he is using God's will to fool things, the problem is that since ancient times, haven't ministers themselves also like to use God's will to make things happen?
Otherwise, why after the Qingning Palace disaster, there were hundreds of memorials in the imperial court just talking about the disaster, and even ministers like them had to resign on the grounds of offending God? Even the emperor had to resign because of the Qingning Palace disaster. Fire punishes oneself.
Everyone doesn’t believe it, why do you still do such a thing?
It doesn’t matter whether your ministers believe this or not, or whether the emperor believes it or not.
Mainly people believe it.
What's even more remarkable now is that the emperor believed everything Zhang Zhou said.
Are you angry or not?
“Mr. The matter of using troops on nine sides due to the will of God has never been about rushing in lightly or taking the initiative to attack, but the battle at the turn point... The battle situation was a bit out of control, which was also the result of Weining Hou deciding his own strategy. I can I didn’t let him blow up the city gate! This has nothing to do with me.”
While Zhang Zhou was admitting that he was an alchemist, he was still shirking responsibility for himself.
Xie Qian didn't understand for a while, what kind of trick did this kid have?
Why does arguing with this guy make you want to hit him?
That tone of speech... that offending attitude, and that rude way of facing problems... Do you understand what the golden mean is? There are some things and positions that you shouldn't avoid?
Zhu Youtang said: "I can also testify for the Zhang Qing family on this point. At that time, the Zhang Qing family only proposed that in mid-February, the Tatars might invade the border, and they also provided the mighty sky gunpowder, craftsmen and manufacturers of the sky gunpowder. The materials were brought to Pianguan by Wang Weining himself. As for how to use the troops, Zhang Qing’s family did not have much involvement as he was still in the Gongyuan at that time.”
This made Xie Qian even more powerless.
Zhang Zhou was playing tricks here, but the emperor was supporting him behind his back.
The debate notary and referee all sided with Zhang Zhou... No wonder this guy can play his cards without following the routine.
