The Prince of Yu, still resentful, angrily declared, "How else can it be handled? I will personally escort this to the palace today and let His Majesty decide..."
But then he reconsidered: Xu Jie had said this item was sent by Zhu Mo, which meant it was no ordinary matter. What was his intention? Did he simply not want Gao Gong to become the Grand Secretary? But it didn't seem that simple.
Seeing that the Prince had not grasped the crucial point, Xu Jie said directly:
"Your Highness, Brother Shilou, last time you mentioned lecturing at Baitian Academy. I have been too busy lately. How about in these next two days? It would be best if Your Highness could also attend, as correcting names is the most important matter in the world..."
Mm-hmm.
Li Chunfang immediately reacted and blurted out, "Good, good! Brother Shaohu, your idea is brilliant! I will prepare my lecture notes today and return. Tomorrow, I will invite more people, preferably from all six ministries. We will also give a grand lecture!"
All six ministries?
Is that necessary?
The Prince of Yu couldn't help but wonder, "Senior Grand Secretary Xu, what should I lecture about? Neo-Confucianism, or refuting the false teachings of Yangming?"
Xu Jie smiled and said, "Your Highness only needs to preside. Brother Shilou can lecture on how the current dynasty selects officials through Neo-Confucianism. As for me, I will lecture on the debate between Legalism and Confucianism..."
The debate between Legalism and Confucianism?
The Prince of Yu immediately understood –
This was about making Gao Gong's crimes public knowledge.
What was the point of having representatives from all six ministries attend, if not for that?
"Very well! Senior Grand Secretary Xu, Gao Suqing's actions are truly unprecedented since the founding of our Great Ming. It is indeed necessary to let the world know of his wickedness and prevent such malicious individuals from appearing in the future!"
Mm-hmm.
The three of them had reached an agreement.
...
The next afternoon,
Baitian Academy was already bustling.
The six ministries had each sent two or three people. Coupled with the scholars who had gathered from various regions, the academy's open space was already packed, easily accommodating two to three thousand people. Tables were also set up around the area, and many people stood on them.
Today, the Prince of Yu himself was presiding, with Senior Grand Secretary Xu and Grand Secretary Li giving the lectures. It was the highest-profile event since the founding of Baitian Academy! The scholars were naturally in a frenzy. Many had never seen these important figures before, and who would miss the opportunity to meet them today?
Amidst the crowded hustle, dozens of servants suddenly entered, each carrying a stack of papers. As they met scholars, they casually handed them out.
Many scholars were bewildered. Upon a casual glance, a chorus of surprised exclamations arose –
"Huh? Grand Secretary Gao's letter?"
"Killing people to reform the law? So it was Gao Gong who came up with this..."
"Damn! That's too malicious!"
"Then Yin Zhengmao is a beast!"
"Isn't this rebellion?"
"Indeed! What are Gao Gong and his disciples trying to do?"
"Damn! This is too ruthless! Old Gao is truly poisonous!"
"Everyone says Zhu Mo is a cruel legalist. Turns out it was all Old Gao's doing! My goodness!"
"It seems Gao Gong is targeting Zhu Mo. Alas, he's also a scapegoat..."
"The scholar from Jiangnan last time was right, Zhu Mo wasn't implementing Qin law. It was that old Gao who truly wanted to implement Qin law!"
"Complicated, very complicated!"
"Who distributed this?"
"Where are those servants from?"
"What is happening?"
"Who knows!"
"Let's wait and hear what Senior Grand Secretary Xu and the others have to say..."
"..."
They naturally did not know that these people were hired by Zhu Mo. Last night, several printing workshops worked overtime, and over five hundred copies had already been printed. The letters and memorials were in their original text, while the manuscript only excerpted the extreme remarks.
He had guessed that Xu Jie would still play tricks and not directly implicate Gao Gong. Therefore, he decided to use this method to solidify the matter, leaving Xu Jie with no room for rebuttal. When all the scholars heard this, they would know that Xu Jie was targeting Gao Gong, which would lead to both sides being weakened. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
As the commotion continued,
The sound of bells rang out.
The Prince of Yu did not wear ceremonial robes, and like Xu Jie and Li Chunfang, he was in the simple attire of a scholar. However, the small contingent of guards behind him clearly informed everyone that –
The main characters had arrived.
Everyone had guessed that the Prince of Yu would likely discuss Gao Gong's secret letters that had just been circulated. And when the Prince of Yu spoke, he indeed delivered a decisive blow:
"Esteemed scholars, I heard that Master Xu and Master Li would be lecturing and was inspired to come and listen... Well, the capital has been quite lively recently, with discussions in the Confucian circles about Yangming's philosophy and Cheng-Zhu's philosophy. I am very eager to hear everyone's thoughts... Additionally, there have been discussions about Legalist philosophy in the past month. I am quite confused and truly wish to hear the insights of both teachers... Without further ado, I invite both teachers to the platform!"
Wow!
Amidst the clamor,
Everyone clearly heard –
Today's topic was indeed Legalism.
Does this mean Gao Gong's fate is sealed?
And what about Zhu Mo? Will the reforms continue to be pursued?
Leaving home today without checking the almanac, I've stumbled upon a major event...
...
Xu Jie ascended the lecture platform, coughed a few times, and said loudly:
"Fellow scholars, as the Prince just mentioned, today's topic is the debate between reason and mind, and the debate between Legalism and Confucianism! The reason for discussing this topic is, as everyone knows, that academies across the land wish to honor Yangming's philosophy of the mind as official learning. As a Grand Secretary of the Inner Court, I can tell you clearly – the court has not yet reached a consensus! Before a conclusion is reached, you should still focus on Cheng-Zhu for your imperial examinations! You must all pay close attention to this session.
Er, the reason for discussing the debate between Legalism and Confucianism is simple. It's an age-old topic that resurfaces from time to time, and it's not unusual... What I will lecture on today is the origin of the debate between Legalism and Confucianism. All scholars must distinguish right from wrong... Cough, cough, I will begin now."
Following this,
He droned on for a while, indeed starting from Confucius, Laozi, and Mozi. Everyone began to doze off after listening for a while, feeling completely deviated from the topic the Prince of Yu had raised.
At this moment,
Zhu Mo, also mingling with the crowd, couldn't help but chuckle –
This cunning old fox is indeed trying to smooth things over again!
If I hadn't distributed Gao Gong's materials to everyone beforehand, who would know what he was talking about? I would have thought he was still criticizing me!
Fortunately,
These scholars are not stupid. Each of them is holding Gao Gong's materials and comparing them. You can't play tricks anymore. From now on, you, Xu Jie, will be the one who brought down Gao Gong, and you can't escape!
Seeing that the situation was irreversible, and that once these scholars returned, the entire capital would explode within two to three hours, it would be too late for Xu Jie to mend his ways.
And as he had just left,
Xu Jie had also sensed it –
Why was it so noisy below today?
Normally, lectures were conducted in complete silence.
With his sharp eyes, he immediately noticed that almost everyone in their hands held a few pieces of paper.
This?
What is this?
He glanced sideways at Li Chunfang, who was also completely bewildered.
The grand lecture concluded in this peculiar atmosphere. Xu Jie immediately found someone to get a copy and looked at it carefully. With a cry of alarm, he exclaimed –
"This is bad! I've been tricked by that brat!"